404 and start there right on the first. Recognize your son in this season Lord, just in this
season into 26 and the rest of our lives as well. Pray that you'd fill us with your spirit
during the service and help us to sing praises unto you. Pray also that you'd be with Pastor
Oz and the rest of the service as he preaches from your word Lord in Jesus name I pray.
Amen. For our next song, if you would, turn in your hymnals to hymn number 420. There's
a song in the air. Hymn number 420. We'll start there right on the first. There's a
song in the air. There's a song in the air. There's a song in the air. There's a song
in the air. The end of it. We do have inside our service times listed there. Sunday morning
at 1030, Sunday evening at 430, and our Wednesday Bible study through Romans at 7 o'clock.
Below that we have all of our soul winning times listed there. And just make note that
this upcoming Saturday will be the last time that we have the Saturday rally that meets
at the church building. Going forward in the future after that we'll be meeting on location.
And so Brother Eric's going to send out the location usually on Fridays so that those
who want to go can make preparation to do that. Below we have our year to date soul
winning statistics there. We got 644 locally for the year and 2253 total for the year.
So absolutely great results for our year here. Upcoming events this evening, we're going
to be having our kids choir perform for us and we're really excited to have them do that.
We're basically going to how it's going to work is we'll have announcements and we'll
have our third song. After the third song Brother Cameron will have all the kids come
up and begin our Christmas choir for the kids. Also I wanted to make note that Brother Eric
is going to make sure that the camera is framed really well to get a good video of the kids
and we're going to have audio as well so don't feel pressured like you have to videotape
it yourself. You're more than welcome to do that if you would like but if you want to
just enjoy the moment and just watch the kids there will be a good video on YouTube made
available afterwards so that's totally up to you. Just wanted to let you know about
that. Then immediately after the service we're having our cookie bake-off so please do stick
around and enjoy some cookies with us. Then December 31st which is next Wednesday will
be our New Year's Eve party so we'll have our men's preaching night. I'll order us some
food and we'll have some fellowship and games afterwards so that'll be great next week.
On the right there we have our online visitor card if your visitor wouldn't mind filling
that out we'd appreciate it and then for those interested in online giving that QR code below
that is for that and then we do have our prayer list as well and I didn't see anything new
this week so if you ever do have an update or something new please do email the church
and we'll go ahead and go to the Lord in prayer as a church family before we go to our third
song this evening. Lord we thank you very much for this great holiday of Christmas and
for God's people just being gathered here together this evening to think about the birth
of your son and the greatest gift that was ever given to mankind the Lord Jesus Christ.
I pray that this service would be honoring and glorifying to you Lord. Help us to be
thankful during this season for all the gifts that you have given us Lord in our life so
many wonderful things that we can be thankful for. Also Lord I just pray that you would
be with the different prayer requests that our church members have here that you answer
these according to your will. I pray that you please just keep my brother safe on his
deployment. That you please bring him home safely to his family Lord and that you just
bless him during Christmas. I also pray that you would bless Brother Theodore's mother
that she would please heal her cancer Lord and we also want to pray for those members
that we have who have unsaved loved ones. That those people would just have soft hearts
to the gospel. That they would get to hear the word of God especially around this time
of year and Lord I also want to just pray for safety as many people are going to be
traveling over the next couple of days. I pray that you'd help us to enjoy our holiday
celebrations safely Lord. We love you in Jesus name we pray. Amen. Alright this time we'll
go ahead and go to our third song together. Alright for our third song if you would at
this time take your hymnals and turn to hymn number 433. Away in a manger. Hymn number
433. Go ahead and start there right on the first. Away. Chapter number 2. Turn in your
Bibles to Matthew chapter number 2. Matthew 2 the Bible reads, "Now when Jesus was born
in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the King, behold there came wise men from
the east to Jerusalem, saying, 'Where is he that is born king of the Jews? For we have
seen his star in the east and are come to worship him.' When Herod the King had heard
these things, he was troubled in all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the
chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be
born. And they said unto him, 'In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet,
and now Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, art not the least among the princes of Judah?
For out of thee shall come a governor that shall rule my people Israel.' Then Herod,
when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.
And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, "Go and search diligently for the young child;
and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also."
When they had heard the king, they departed and lo, the star, which they saw in the east,
went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the
star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were coming to the house, they
saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down and worshipped him. And when
they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts, gold and frankincense and
myrrh. And being warned of God in a dream, that they should not return to Herod, they
departed into their own country another way. And when they were departed, behold, the angel
of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and
his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word. For Herod will
seek the young child to destroy him. When he arose, he took the young child and his
mother by night, and departed into Egypt. And was there until the death of Herod, that
it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt
have I called my son. Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was
exceeding wrath, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and
in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which
he had diligently inquired of the wise men. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by
Jeremy the prophet, saying, "In Ramah was there a voice heard lamentation, and weeping,
and great mourning. Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because
they are not. But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream
to Joseph in Egypt, saying, 'Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into
the land of Israel, for they are dead which sought the young child's life.' And he arose
and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. But when he
heard that Archelaus did reign in Judea, in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid
to go thither, notwithstanding being warned of God in a dream. He turned aside into the
parts of Galilee, and he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled
which was spoken by the prophets. He shall be called a Nazarene. Let's bow our heads
forward in prayer. Father God in heaven, we thank you for this day and the Christmas season.
We thank you for our church, and we just ask that you fill our hearts with the Holy Spirit,
help us to learn from the Word, and in Jesus' name we pray.
Man, well, Merry Christmas to everyone. It's great to be in church during the Christmas season,
and great job to all the kiddos singing their heart out for us. I definitely enjoyed that,
and it's good to be in church this evening. Matthew chapter number two is our text for this
evening, and let's start reading in verse one. The Bible says, "Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem
of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
saying, 'Where is he that is born?'" And notice this phrase, "King of the Jews, for we have seen
his star in the east and are come to worship him." So here there's these wise men that came from the
east and they're already referring to the Lord Jesus Christ as a king. Even in his birth, he's
referred to as being a king. And of course, people who are wise recognize that Jesus is the king.
And of course, why is that? Because the Old Testament is constantly pointing to the coming
of the Messiah. That's why when Jesus came on the scene in John chapter number one, his disciples
see him and they said, "Hey, we found the Messiah of whom Moses and all the prophets did write of."
So people that are wise, people that know the scriptures, they recognize Jesus as king. And of
course, he's not only king of the Jews. Go to Luke chapter number two, if you would, Luke chapter two
and keep your place there throughout the sermon. You know, here the wise men refer to him as the
king of the Jews, but we know that Jesus Christ is the king of the whole earth. Revelation 19 16 says,
"And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written king of kings and lord of lords." So he's
not only the king of the Jews, as the wise man said, but he's really the king of kings. He's in
charge of all the kings. He's above all the lords of the earth. And so the title of my sermon this
evening is this, "The Birth of Our King." The birth of our king. I want to point out several aspects
of the birth of Jesus Christ that the Bible highlights for us. Number one, I want to point
out the humble arrival of the king, the humble arrival of the king. Luke 2 verse 4, the Bible
says, "And Joseph also went up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth into 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 she should be delivered. And she brought forth her first born
son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him, notice, in a manger, because there was no
room for them in the inn. You know, I read that verse for you in Revelation 19 that Jesus is the
King of Kings. He is the Lord of Lords. There's never been any higher royalty than this royal
birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. Yet the King of Kings, where does he come to be born? He comes
to be laid in a manger. What is a manger? A manger is a box or a trough in a stable or barn
from which horses and cattle eat. So the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the creator of the world,
he comes down to become a man. He gets born of the Virgin Mary and he's laid in a feeding trough.
He's laid in a little box that farmers will use to feed their cattle or feed their horses.
You know, that's not a very glamorous coming into this world, is it? And when you think about royalty
today, you know, the British royalty, I guess they still have royalty for some dumb reason.
It's all ceremonial. We don't care about it in America, that's for sure. But you know,
if some baby is going to be born into the royal family, I'm sure that's going to be all over the
news. I'm sure that baby is going to have a verified Instagram account and it's going to have,
you know, millions of views and millions of likes. And that baby is going to have the nicest clothes
and it's going to have a main, not a manger, not a trough, but it's going to have a nice kingly bed,
princely bed. Maybe it'll have jewels on it. Maybe it'll have the royal something on it. Who knows,
right? But it's going to be, there's going to be a lot of to do about this baby's birth. Yet Jesus
is the King of Kings and he comes born in this world and whereas he's just laid in a feeding trough.
And notice, because there was no room for him at the inn, you would think whoever's staying at the
inn when they hear, oh, the King of the Jews has been born, the King of Kings has been born. Hey,
you could have my reservation, right? We would think if Jesus came here tonight and he wanted
your seat, would you say, no, this is my Baptist seat, I'm not moving or would sure Lord, you could
have this seat, right? We would all do that for him. Yet when he's come and born into this world,
it's just he's put in a feeding trough. What does that highlight? It highlights his humility. The
fact that Jesus Christ, his first coming is one of humility. All right, go to Zechariah chapter
number nine, towards the end of your Old Testament, Zechariah chapter number nine, Zechariah nine verse
nine when you get there. The Bible says, "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. Shout, O daughter of
Jerusalem. Behold, thy king cometh unto thee. He is just and having salvation." Notice this word,
"lowly and riding upon an ass and upon a colt, the full of an ass." Everything from Jesus's birth
to his ministry, to his triumphal entry into Jerusalem was all about humility, right? When
he's born into this world, he's just laid in a manger. When he's doing his ministry,
he's constantly serving others. He's washing his disciples feet. And then in his triumphal entry,
when he's going into Jerusalem, where he'll end up being crucified, what is he riding upon?
A big stallion, a big Mustang? Nope, an ass, a donkey, a lowly animal. I mean, just think about
the size of a donkey. They're like this tall off the ground. You'd feel kind of silly riding on
that. You wouldn't necessarily feel very macho or alpha or anything like that. Yet he is the King
of Kings. Yet he is the Lord of Lords. But he is just has this life of humility. Now in his second
coming, it's going to be glory. It's going to be the Lord ruling and reigning on this earth with
a rod of iron. You know, he's going to break the nations in pieces. But here's the thing,
his first coming was very lowly. And honestly, he probably had more of a lowly birth than any
of us in this room. I mean, I was born in a hospital. Raise your hand if you're born in a
hospital. All right, all right, all right, all right, all right. Just about every single person,
everyone in here, except for my two youngest, maybe some young kids in here were born in a hospital.
Okay. And that's nice. You have nice beds, you have blankets, you have heat and air conditioning,
right? Yet he's just in this manger, in this feeding trough. Go to Isaiah 53, Isaiah chapter 53.
Not only was he just laid in the feeding trough, but again, notice how there was no room in the inn.
And like I said, you would think that they would give up that room for him, but I think this is a
picture of the fact that Jesus was going to have a life where he was despised and rejected. And you
know what? Those who follow the Lord Jesus Christ, you are not signing up to get healthy and wealthy
and famous and loved and all this. No, no, no. If you're going to follow after Jesus, you should
expect a life like his, a lowly life, sometimes being rejected, sometimes being despised. Look
at Isaiah 53 verse 1, "Who hath believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?
For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant and as a root out of a dry ground. He hath no form
nor comeliness. And when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him." So,
you know, Jesus wasn't just born with this natural gifted beauty like a lot of actors and
actresses have where everyone just looks to them like, "Wow, they're so special. They're so attractive."
That wasn't his case. It says in verse three, "He is noticed despised and rejected of men,
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. We hid, as it were, our faces from him. He was despised
and we esteemed him not." You know, a lot of false religions will look at the Lord Jesus Christ
and say that he's not the Messiah because he, quote, "failed" when he came to this earth and how
God would never take on this form of a servant. God would never take on this form of being lowly
or despised or rejected, but rather he would come and he would just be ruling and reigning right
away. But here's the thing. Notice what the Old Testament is telling us that the coming of the
Messiah would be like is that he's going to be lowly and he's going to be despised and he's going
to be rejected. Right? So the Jews today say, yes, a Messiah exists, but it's not the Christ. Guess
what that religion is. That's an anti-Christ religion is what it is. And they're not accepting what the
Bible says here that he would come and be rejected and despised of men. Same thing with the Muslims.
They'll say, oh, how could God have a son? How, you know, God doesn't have a birthday. Yes,
he does have a birthday. Now, here's the thing. The Lord Jesus Christ has eternally existed,
but guess what? He became a man on a certain day. He took on flesh on a certain day. And that's what
we celebrate in Christmas was the fact that God took on humility and took on flesh for us. Go to
Philippians chapter number two, Philippians chapter number two, Philippians chapter two.
When you get there, look at verse three, it says, let nothing be done through strife or vain glory,
but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his
own things, but every man also in the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which also,
which was also in Christ Jesus. So notice the Lord Jesus Christ, he has eternally existed.
He's always been the son of God. He has been sharing glory with God the father from eternity
past, but there was a moment in time where he put on humility. He put on flesh. He was born into
this world and he esteemed others better than himself. Now that is a crazy thought because
what does it mean to esteem? It means to count, right? So he's counting other people as being
better than himself when in reality, obviously no one is better than the Lord Jesus Christ.
So if Jesus can come down and be humble, if Jesus could put other people's needs first,
if Jesus could love other people when they don't deserve it, how much more should we put this mind
in us? How much more should we be like Jesus and count others better than ourselves? Notice verse
six, who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God. Why is that? Because
here's the thing, I would never get up here and say that I'm equal with God. You would never say
that you're equal with God. You would count that robbery because it's not true. But here's the
thing, here's why it's not robbery for Jesus to count himself as being equal with God is because
he is equal with God. In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was
God and the word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only
begotten of the father, right? So that's why it's not robbery for him to be counting himself equal
with God because he is equal with God. Yet, notice what verse number seven, but made himself of no
reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men.
And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the
death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him and given him a name, which is above
every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow of things in heaven and things in earth
and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the
glory of God the Father. Another great thought to have during Christmas is remembering the fact
that our Lord Jesus Christ loved us so much that he was willing to be humble, to put on human flesh,
to come and be born in a manger, for crying out loud, willing to not just come be a human,
it'd be one thing to just become a human, but he lived a human life that was full of suffering,
rejection, pain, grief, sorrow, people constantly lying about him, people constantly trying to kill
him, people constantly speaking evil against him, you know, putting a false trial where he ends up
getting crucified, where he gets the nails through his hands, through his feet, he's on the cross for
six agonizing hours and dying. Look, that doesn't sound like a fun life. Jesus was not living his
best life now. Jesus was not enjoying the pleasures of this world. Jesus came to this world for one
thing, to be a suffering servant, to be a humble servant, to come and be born as a baby, go through
the human experience and eventually die for our sins because that's the only hope we ever had.
But what's great is that in the future, hey, at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow of things
in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth. There is coming a day where all the
atheists, all the scoffers, all the Jews, all the Muslims, all the people who hate Jesus Christ will
bow before him and will proclaim his name and will honor his name. And look, I don't know how it is
where you work and I don't know what your company, if your company's saying happy holidays or if
they're saying Merry Christmas or if they're forbidding you to, you know, have decorations
or talk about the Bible. But you know what? All of them one day will bow before Jesus Christ and
will be worshiping him. Every person that goes around saying, "Oh, don't say Merry Christmas,
it's Happy Hanukkah," you'll be, you'll be praising Jesus Christ someday. Because you know what? He
came here humble the first time, but the second time, not so. He's going to be ruling and reigning.
Go to Ephesians chapter five, Ephesians chapter number five, Ephesians chapter five verse one,
"Be therefore followers of God as dear children and walk in love as Christ also hath loved us
and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling
savor." Of course when you think about the sacrifice that the Lord Jesus Christ gave us,
typically what we're thinking about is his death on the cross, his descent into hell. And of course
that is the biggest sacrifice that he went through and we're doing that whole series about the
sayings of Jesus on the cross because it's such an important event. But I think also during Christmas
that we have to remember that part of the sacrifice that Jesus made was simply coming to live
the human life. Because before that he was in glory. Before that, hey, he had everything. Go
to John chapter 17, I'll show you this. But he decided he was willing to humble himself and come
down to live a human life. And of course Jesus was 100% human. He's 100% God and 100% man.
John 17, look at verse five, Jesus is praying to the father and he says, "And now, oh, father,
glorify thou me with thine own self, with the glory which I had with thee before the world was."
You know, that's one of the sacrifices that Jesus made is that for all of eternity past,
he's been sharing glory with God the father, right? So he's used to an exalted state.
He's used to being the king of king in heaven, sharing glory with God the father, having a
cattle on a thousand hills, having everything, but yet he came to be a human being. And he even was
at one point separated from God. He said, my God, my God, why is thou forsaken me? Let me read for
you. Second Corinthians eight, nine. The Bible says for, you know, the grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ, that though he was rich yet for your sakes, he became poor, that ye through his poverty
might be rich. Go to Luke chapter number two, Luke chapter number two. So the Bible says that Jesus
was once rich, but he became poor. How many people on this earth do you think would willingly make
that decision for someone else? If you went to a rich man today and you said, "Hey, you know,
you're really rich right now. You're exalted. You have honor. You have status. You have all these
pleasures at your fingertips. But you know what? I'm going to give you an opportunity." You can
lose all of that and become poor, but you're going to save people. You're going to give people the
opportunity to be saved. Or you can just keep all your riches. You know what most people would do.
Most people would keep their money. Most people would keep their riches. And you know, it's really
easy for people who are poor, don't have much to say like, "Oh, you know, I would definitely do that."
But you know, there's a reason why rich people are rarely saved is because they care more about
their money than anything else. And so that is a magnificent story that Jesus was willing to do
that. Number two, this evening, good tidings revealed to shepherds. Good tidings revealed to
shepherds. Luke chapter two, verse eight, the Bible says, 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, kids, you just quoted this. And the angel said unto them, fear not. For
behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. Notice that even
Even though the joy and the good news of the gospel and of the birth of the Lord Jesus
Christ, even though it's good news and it's joy to all people, notice that the angels
came first to give this announcement, who?
To the shepherds.
What is that picture?
Just your regular blue collar, middle class, common man.
You know what?
Those are the people that get excited about Christmas.
Those are the people that get excited about the Lord Jesus Christ.
Those are the people that are most likely to get saved are the poor, the working class
people of this earth, regular people.
Notice that the birth of our king, he didn't come down to some regent.
He didn't come down to Herod.
He didn't come down to the president.
He didn't come down to the rich.
He came, these angels came and just told the shepherds.
And you know what?
It's the shepherds who are still today the most receptive to the gospel.
Go to Mark chapter 12, keeping your place in Luke 2, Mark chapter number 12.
Mark 12 verse 35, and Jesus answered and said, while he taught in the temple, how say he
the scribes that Christ is the son of David?
For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, the Lord said to my Lord, sit thou in my
right hand till I make thine enemies thy footstool.
David therefore himself calleth him Lord.
And whence is he then his son?
Notice this, and the common people heard him gladly.
And he said unto them in his doctrine, Beware of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing,
and love salutations in the market places, and the chief seats in the synagogues, and
the uppermost rooms at feasts, which devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long
prayers.
These shall receive the greater damnation.
Notice as Jesus is preaching about the fact that he is the Messiah, and that he's God,
because David's saying, "Hey, the Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou at my right hand, until
I make thine enemies my footstool."
He's preaching that he's God, that he's the Messiah, and he's preaching super hard against
all the false prophets and all the fake religions that are in this world, and you know what?
The common people heard gladly.
He didn't come to, you know, you know who didn't hear the Lord Jesus Christ gladly
was the scribes, was the Pharisees, were those that called themselves rabbis, those that
called themselves father, those that wear the long clothing and love the salutations
and all the no, no, no, those people rejected Jesus.
Those people hated him.
Those people conspired to kill him.
And you know, it's the same thing today.
It's the common man that hears the gospel of Jesus Christ gladly.
You know, I went out soul winning this Sunday, we're knocking on people's doors, we're asking
them if they're 100% sure that they're saved.
And me and brother Cameron, we knocked on the door of a man from Cameroon, a country
in Africa.
This man does not come from money or wealth or anything like that.
He was a very humble person.
It was awesome talking to this guy, he was very nice, very humble, and man he just ate
up the gospel.
He loved it.
And he got saved, praise God for that.
But guess what church he went to before, the Catholic Church.
And you know what, after I got this guy saved, I sat him down and I told him a bunch of reasons
why the Catholic Church is wicked as hell.
And why it's false and why it's evil.
And why the gospel that I just showed him is not what the Catholic Church teaches.
And you know what he did? He heard me gladly because he's the common man.
And I take him to 1st Timothy chapter 3 and here the Bible says that a bishop must be
the husband of one wife.
Isn't that weird that the Catholic Church says you must not be the husband of one wife?
You must be celibate?
When it's the exact opposite of what the Bible says?
Hey, isn't it weird that Jesus said, "Call no man father upon the earth"?
And you go to the church where you say, "Oh, Holy Father, please forgive my sins."
You know what?
He just ate it up and he received it gladly because he's the common man.
And you know what, today in 2025, you know who loves hard preaching against false prophets
and false religion?
The common man.
Regular Baptist churches, that's the common people of this world.
You know, not the high steeple, stained glass, backwards collar, multi-million dollar campus,
billion dollar organizations around the world.
Those people are not interested in the truth.
You want to know why people go to churches like Stephen Furtick's church?
It's because they want to heap to themselves teachers having itching ears because they
don't love the truth.
You know what?
The common person just wants the King James Bible.
The common person just wants Merry Christmas.
The common person just wants the story of Christ, the gospel of Jesus, which is free
by the way, not of works, lest any man should boast, the Bible says.
The common person says, wow, I'm a sinner, I'm worthy of hell, I could never earn salvation
on my own works, I can never repent of all my sins, to be safe, I have to accept that
free gift.
Isn't that what Christmas is?
It's about the gift.
Right?
The gift that was given to us, the Lord Jesus Christ and His sacrifice.
Go to, if you would, Matthew chapter 5, Matthew chapter number 5, the sermon on the mount.
In verse 3, this is known as the Beatitudes, verse 3 of Matthew 5, it says, "Blessed are
the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled."
In the same way that the Lord Jesus Christ in His first coming, He came very lowly, He
came humble, He was laid in a manger, He lived a life of service, He was not rich, He did
not enjoy all the pleasures of this world, He was meek, He was lowly, I'm sure at times
He was hungry, I'm sure at times He was thirsty, I'm sure at times He was hot, I'm sure at
times He was annoyed at being lonely or being forsaken or being turned on and all these
things but here's the thing in the future every single knee is going to bow to Him and
same thing for us the common person in this world often times is going through life poor
right going through life mourning going through life meek going through life hungering and
thirsting both physically and spiritually right but here's the thing just like how
Jesus came in humility and someday will be exalted hey the common man the regular Joe
of this world that believes in the Lord Jesus Christ though right now we may have a meager
existence though right now you may not be rich or exalted or anything like that hey
you know what you will in the kingdom of God you will have great rewards in heaven and
look I'm not saying we're living here as super austere meager lives because we live in the
United States of America we're very very blessed but you know what there's a lot of people
throughout this world that are not experiencing the same type of Christmas that you and I
are experiencing there's a lot of people in this world that believe in the Lord Jesus
Christ and you know what they're not gonna be opening up tons of presents tomorrow they're
not able to afford to give a ton of presents I mean when I was preaching to kids in the
Bahamas very very poor people I asked a kid I said have you ever received a gift before
and he said no and it was kind of like a punch in the gut like wow this person has never
received a gift so I gave him the free movie pass I said well now you have here's a free
gift but you know we just were really spoiled but here's the thing even though compared
to other place in the world we're definitely spoiled I think we all can relate though to
at least morning at times going through life being sad morning being meek you know those
things because of Jesus is coming because of his death because of his resurrection someday
hey we're going to be filled we're going to be comforted we're going to inherit the earth
go to Matthew 11 Matthew chapter number 11 what are we talking about hey the good news
was revealed to the shepherds revealed to the common man Matthew 11 verse 4 Jesus answered
and said unto them go and show John again those things which he do hear and see the
blind receive their sight and the lame walk the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear
the dead are raised up notice and the poor have the gospel preached to them and you know
what here we are 2025 years later and it's the same thing today it's the poor that hears
the gospel when we go out into this community and preach the gospel in the ghettos of southeast
okc southwest okc those people are hungering and thirsting after righteousness you ask
them hey can i show you from the bible what it says it takes to get to heaven of course
yeah please show me they're excited to hear it whereas you go to the rich no i don't have
time no i don't care no i'm good i already know even though they just told you the wrong
answers hey what do you think it takes to get to heaven follow all the commandments
be a good person be baptized repent of all my sins live a good life that's not the right
answer my friend oh can i show you the bible actually says something different can i show
you that no have a good day and it's just like wow but you go to the poor and that's
not the attitude you get you preach the gospel in mexico you preach the gospel in the bahamas
you go to the even poor in the united states of america and these people are hungry it
was the same when jesus was on this earth go back to luke chapter 2 while you're turning
there first simothy 4 10 says for therefore we both labor and suffer reproach because
we trust in the living god who is the savior of all men specially of those that believe
so don't get me wrong it's not like jesus is just the savior of the poor but we know
that he came and was mostly accepted by the poor it's very similar to what luke 2 10
says and the angel said unto them fear not for behold i bring you good tidings of great
joy which shall be to notice all people right he's the savior of all men and so even though
it's the poor who primarily accept the lord jesus christ we don't want to give this weird
calvinist idea acting like jesus came and just died for certain groups of people the
bible says he's the savior of all men especially today who believe that means that he's the
savior both of those who believe and who do not believe now who's going to actually receive
salvation from the savior those that believe but he was still their savior he's still reaching
out his hand he's still wanting to save them but it's a choice to be saved so notice the
good tidings of great joy is for 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 number three this evening
heavenly host glorifying god heavenly host glorifying god look at verse 13 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 you see you have one aspect of
the christmas story that's really highlighting the humility of christ why because christ is
100 percent man he is a human being and not just any human being a human being that was
coming to serve a human being that was coming to suffer a human being that would be heard
by the common man but there's another aspect of the christmas story that is way different
than his humility that none of us have ever experienced at our birth or any birth we've
ever been to where yes he was laid in a manger but a huge heavenly host shows up and starts
praising god at the birth of the lord jesus christ that's something i think a lot of people
don't often think about you know you see the uh the manger pictures what am i thinking
of the nativity scenes right people think of the birth of christ they think of the nativity
scene they think about the three wise men they think about bringing gifts to jesus they
think about mary and joseph and the manger but one of the things we got to remember is
that during the birth of the lord jesus christ there's this multitude of heavenly hosts what
is that talking about angels you know the host of the lord the lord's army in heaven
shows up and there's this multitude of heavenly hosts praising god and saying glory to god
in the highest and on earth peace goodwill toward men why are there these seemingly juxtaposed
you know pictures of the lord jesus christ's birth because he's 100 percent man but he's
also 100 percent god jesus christ is god in the flesh and the muslims can mock at that
all they want oh you say that god has a son yeah god has a son he existed in proverbs
chapter number 30 he existed in daniel chapter number three and guess what he was born in
this world and the heavenly hosts were praising him go to hebrews chapter number one hebrews
chapter number one god doesn't have a birthday i saw some post of this muslim holding a sign
saying god doesn't have a birthday you know like blaspheme all you want but jesus christ
was born and he is god hebrews chapter number one verse four notice this speaking of jesus
and the whole book of hebrews the theme of the entire book of hebrews is this word better
better testament better covenant better promises everything is about being better in the new
testament notice what it says in verse four being made so much better than the angels
as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than the they see jesus was
not just a man he is so much better than the angels the bible says for unto which of the
angels said he at any time thou art my son this day have i begotten thee and again i
will be to him a father and he shall be to me a son the bible saying which angels ever
at any time had the honor of god saying thou art my son this day have i begotten thee that's
a rhetorical question folks never god never said to any of his angels thou art my son
these angels are ministering spirits what the bible teaches that they are but jesus
christ is his son jesus christ is the son of god and he is god i'll prove that to you verse
number six notice it says and again when he bringeth the first begotten into the world
he saith and let all the angels of god worship him that's the christmas story right there
that's what we just read and notice in luke chapter two it said that there was a multitude
of the heavenly host here the bible says that it was all the angels of god so when it says
and again when he that's god the father bringeth in the first begotten into the world that's
the son he god the word god the father saith and let all the angels of god worship him
this is not just a man folks when jesus christ was born god the father gave the command to
his heavenly folk heavenly host saying let all of you go and worship him that's amazing
and in before i had just thought like oh you know who knows how many angels there are you
kind of picture what is this a couple hundred a couple thousand it's just literally all
the angels that exist he says all the angels of god worship him that's amazing you know
that shows that he's so much better than the angels because the angels are worshiping christ
at his birth verse seven and of the angels he saith who maketh his angels spirits and
his ministers a flame of fire notice but unto the sun he saith thy throne oh god is forever
and ever a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom here you have god the
father calling jesus christ god why because there's three that bear record in heaven the
father of the word and the holy ghost and these three are one and jesus is not just a man though
he is a man but he is also 100 god in the flesh and you can sit here and say well i can't understand
that my brain can't can't comprehend that well good it means you're not god i would be you know
pretty impressed with myself if i could fully understand the being of god but you know what
i just believe what the bible says and i believe that god the father called jesus christ his son
god because jesus is god go to colossians chapter one we'll see some further proof
that jesus is god colossians 1 verse 13 speaking of jesus it says who hath delivered us from the
power of darkness and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear son in whom we have redemption
through his blood even the forgiveness of sins who is the image of the invisible god the first born
of every creature of course the bible says of god the father no man can see my face and live
john one talks about how no man hath seen god at any time the only begotten son which is in the
bosom of the father he hath declared him the bible says so jesus is the image of the invisible god
the bible talks about he's the express image of his person so god the father and jesus christ look
identical but no man has seen the face of god the father or you would die you know moses just saw
the back parts of god the father and his face shown right he had to have that veil over his face
but jesus is the image of the invisible god the firstborn of every creature verse 16 for by him
who is that by jesus for by jesus were all things created that are in heaven and that are in earth
visible and invisible whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers all things
are created by him and for him jesus christ is the creator of the universe when you read
genesis chapter number one and it says let us make man in our image after our likeness why is
that because it's god the father god the son god the holy spirit together in creation and so jesus
christ created all things heaven and earth the firmament the stars the the sun the moon the
galaxies everything notice visible and invisible he created things that you know think about
physics and forces that we cannot see things like gravity you know god created the physical world
that we live in and the laws that exist in this physical world those were created by jesus christ
and then other things that are very real in this world that you cannot see like love created by
god god is love thrones dominions principalities powers all created by the lord jesus christ to be
saved you must believe that jesus christ is god you cannot believe that jesus is just a good man
just a good person what you have to realize is like saying that jesus is just a good man you know
that might sound like a nice thing to say of me or of someone in this audience like he's a good man
that sounds like a nice thing to say what that actually is if you're saying jesus is just a good
man that is actually blasphemy is what that is so you got idiots today that want to team up with
islam and they'll say hey it's okay you know islam they reject jesus as the messiah and of course
they don't believe he's god but you know they think he's a good prophet they think he's a good
teacher look saying that jesus is just a good prophet and just a good teacher or just a good
man is blasphemy and in order to be saved you must believe he is god you must believe he is the son
of god or you will split hell wide open go to first timothy chapter three first timothy chapter
number three i love celebrating christmas because it exalts the name of the lord jesus christ above
anything else and you know thank god we live in a country that is still predominantly christian
where at this time of the year hey we're all singing about christ we're exalting christ you
know at least if you're me you're putting in your automatic work replies at work bible verses about
jesus christ being the savior it's like hey it's christmas don't email me here's a bible verse
right may christ saw this video this comedian's like you know i was going back and forth between
saying merry christmas or you know may the lord jesus christ be exalted to the belittlement of
every false religion and false prophet on this earth and i'm just like that's a great that's a
great christmas greeting you know it's a little hard to get off the tongue but if we can shorten
that a little bit i'd like to use that a lot more often it's great verse timothy chapter 3 verse 16
and without controversy great is the mystery of godliness notice god was manifest in the flesh
received in the spirit seen of angels preached unto the gentiles believed on in the world received
up into glory now look if you got the king james bible all of these verses are going to make sense
but a lot of modern versions corrupt these verses that we've been reading and it won't say that word
god right so i believe fact check me on this but i believe it's the niv instead of saying
god was manifest in the flesh he just says he was manifest in the flesh you know which is more
powerful there the king james telling you hey god was manifest in the flesh or the niv that just
says he was manifest in the flesh that's a big difference right there you need to get a king
james bible go to matthew chapter number two matthew chapter number two number four this evening
i want to say this the ultimate gift given to the world the ultimate gift given to the world
matthew chapter two verse seven it says then harrod when he had privately called his the wise men
inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared and he sent them to bethlehem and said
go and search diligently for the young child and when you have found him bring me word again that
i may come and worship him also when they had heard the king they departed and lo the star which
they saw in the east went went before them till it came and stood over where the young child was so
i'm not sure necessarily if this is you know a few days a few months maybe a few years after his
birth but jesus is now referred to here as being a young child but it's still related to the christmas
story verse 10 it says when they saw the star they rejoiced with exceeding great joy and when
and when they were come into the house they saw the young child with mary his mother and fell down
and worshiped him and when they had opened their treasures they presented unto him gifts gold and
frankincense and myrrh now what have we seen so far the bible highlighting regarding the christmas
story well we've seen his humble coming to this earth his humble birth right we see the fact that
he was brought to the shepherds we see the heavenly host proclaiming his birth now we see these wise
men bringing gifts unto the lord jesus christ which is kind of where this tradition comes from
in christmas where we give each other gifts right and what are we doing when we give each other a
gift well we're supposed to be picturing the fact that god gave us and gave the world the greatest
gift that has ever been given to mankind the lord jesus christ notice these guys you know didn't show
up and say hey what did you get at black friday you know that you can give to me how much did you
save how many you know what's in my stocking stuff like that they were coming to give gifts to the
lord jesus christ and of course the bible says it's more blessed to give than to receive that's
something that's been lost today unfortunately in america go to john three john chapter number
three but you know christmas is not about you getting a new scooter or a new ipad or a new
video game or new computer or new guitar or new football or the remington red rider bb gun or
whatever right hey it's about the lord jesus christ it's about the gift that was given to the
world verse 16 for god so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life that's the best gift ever
and it is a gift by the way because notice god gave us the lord jesus christ his only begotten
son and what do we have to do to have everlasting life according to this verse it's that we would
believe in him whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life does not say
whosoever turns over a new leaf whosoever shows up to church whosoever tithes whosoever repents of
their sin nope it's whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life for
god sent not his son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through him might be
saved god did not send jesus to condemn the world the world was already condemned by not by being
sinful by not believing but the only hope of being saved was the gift given the lord jesus christ
verse 18 he that believeth on him is not condemned how do you not go to hell you believe on jesus
christ but he that believeth not is condemned already because he have not believed in the name
of the only begotten son of god why is it that people are going to hell because they do not
accept the lord jesus christ because they do not put their faith in him they do not accept that
free gift they want to try to get there themselves or like some sort of teamwork with jesus hey jesus
thanks for dying on the cross for my sins thanks for paying it all just kidding it's not all
because i also have to do my part i also have to do my works no no that's trusting in yourself
that's trusting in your own works that's not salvation go to roman's chapter five
roman's chapter number five we just went through this whole chapter last week but you know what
it's great this time of year verse 18 of roman's five says therefore as by the offense of one
judgment came upon all men to condemnation even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came
upon all men unto justification of life the bible just straight up says that it is a free gift now
look none of us grew up here in the bahamas and don't understand what a gift is none of us can say
oh i've never received a gift we've all received a gift in here and when you receive that gift as a
child and you wake up on christmas morning and you see the present sitting underneath the tree
did that child pay for the gift no they got it for free who paid for the gift mom and dad paid
for the gift by the way mom and dad paid for the gift not santa claus all right don't lie to your
children telling them santa claus is real no no no mom and dad bought you those gifts and guess
what you know the gift of god was purchased by the lord jesus christ we did nothing to earn it
the kids did not put in any labor to buy those presents they probably didn't wrap it they didn't
you know go to the go to the bank and get their cash out and buy it at the store they didn't swipe
a cart they didn't do anything you know in salvation i did nothing for my salvation the
only thing that i did was i chose to accept that free gift by believing in the lord jesus christ
verse 20 moreover the law entered that the offense might abound but where sin abounded grace did much
more abound that as sin hath reigned unto death even so grace might grace reign through righteousness
unto eternal life by jesus christ our lord good ephesians chapter number two ephesians chapter
number two we see romans chapter five it just says hey it is a free gift the same exact thing
is taught in ephesians two and look this isn't the only place it's also taught in romans chapter
six it's taught all over the bible but these are great verses showing the gift that was given to
us verse eight says for by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves it is
the gift of god not of works lest any man should boast right so what is a gift it's something that's
not of yourself what is a gift it's something that's not of works if you know your kids pay
you for their christmas presents those cease to be gifts right they're paying for them if it's like
hey you know son or hey daughter i'll buy you a slurpee if you clean the garage that's not a gift
that's them working for it right well salvation is the same thing it's a fate it's not of ourselves
it's the gift of god not of works lest any man should boast if i'm saying hey i'm going to heaven
because i'm a good person i live a good life i go to church i preach the gospel i'm a pastor i
read the bible i pray who does it sound like i'm trusting in jesus or myself right but yeah this is
what people think it's they're getting to heaven with all the works that they do look if you think
that your works are taking you to heaven you are not saved you need to stop trusting in yourself
you need to put all of your trust in jesus christ that's that free gift that was given to us
go to second corinthians chapter number nine second corinthians chapter nine we've looked at
a lot of doctrine so far just pictures of the christmas story that teaches these great doctrines
the fact that jesus came in humility the fact that the christmas story was announced to the
shepherds to the common man we see the heavenly host all of the angels of god praising him at
his birth we see the fact that we have gifts in the story picturing the lord jesus christ and
picturing salvation what are some takeaways that we should just apply to ourselves this christmas
season number one you should be thankful for salvation you should be thankful for what the
lord jesus christ has done look at second corinthians 9 verse 15 says this thanks be unto
god for his unspeakable gift it's it's unspeakable i could sit here for the rest of my life trying to
put into words the beauty and power of the gospel and i would never fully do it justice
it's just that unspeakable gift so look if you are saved this evening if you are going to you
know wake up tomorrow and have another day that god has given you on christmas morning you ought
to be thankful for the salvation that we have you ought to be thankful that the lord jesus christ
came that he was willing to be humble that he was willing to live a life of suffering and anguish
and pain and torment and being rejected and being despised so that we can be saved and not only just
be saved you know life more abundantly as well not only are we just saved but like we're going to
wake up tomorrow we're going to be around people that love us you're probably going to get some
gifts here we are tonight in church with our friends and family we're going to eat some
cookies like god is so good to us you ought to never forget that you have to always be thankful
for that and go to luke chapter number two luke luke chapter two and not not only just be thankful
but you know what you ought to have true joy you ought to be happy you know tomorrow a lot of
people are really depressed around the christmas season and you know sometimes people don't have
family hey if you don't have family get in church you know we'll be your family right but there
sometimes people are struggling they don't have family you know my brother is on a combat deployment
right now i'm thinking about him i'm praying for him but here's the thing look at what it says in
luke chapter two verse 10 it says and the angel said unto them fear not for behold i bring you
good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people you know what you better be happy tomorrow
you better be thankful and you better be happy and look i don't care what's been going on in
your life recently i do care but you know what i'm trying to say look maybe you've going through
sickness you've been going through relationship problems you're going through financial problems
you know what put all that aside and be happy tomorrow thank god for everything you have
thank god for his unspeakable gift thank god for your friends and family thank god for anchor
baptist church thank god for the king james bible thank god for the holy spirit sealing us
unto the day of redemption just be happy don't go through christmas angry and you know what
definitely don't be one of these spoiled brats where you didn't get your favorite toy you didn't
get that exact thing you wanted for christmas so you're going to complain and why you better
be happy tomorrow don't be sad on christmas day you better be happy go to act chapter number 20
and of course what's another application for us hey remember that it's more blessed to give
than to receive christmas is not about how much you get how much other people are going to give you
it should be about what you're willing to give what you give to others look at the apostle paul
in acts 20 verse 33 says i've coveted no man's silver or gold or apparel yea ye yourselves know
that these hands have ministered unto my necessities and to them that were with me
i have showed you all things how that's so laboring ye ought to support the weak
and to remember the words of the lord jesus how he said it is more blessed to give than to receive
that's the words of jesus and you know remember that this christmas season as unfortunately
america seems to be getting more and more covetous every single year christmas seems to be
more and more commercialized every single year where people are so stressed they're starting
their christmas shopping in october or in september because they're just they just got to buy buy buy
buy buy and get get get get get get look the apostle paul's like hey i've coveted no man's
silver i've coveted no man's gold in fact in roman's chapter one he's talking about how he's
excited to come unto them that he may bestow unto them some spiritual gift the apostle paul is you
know what wakes him up in the morning you know what gets him excited you know it gets him out of bed
out of bed that he can go serve other people that he can go give something to other people
and look speaking of having joy you want to have joy in your life live a life that's more about
giving than it is about receiving and praise God for the receiving hey if you get a gift tomorrow
be thankful thank Jesus for it thank your parents for it thank whoever got it for it for you but you
know what be joyful and be more concerned about giving than receiving we'll close in Romans chapter
12 Romans chapter number 12 Romans chapter number 12 look at verse number one it says I beseech you
therefore brethren by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice holy
acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service hey if you accepted the free gift of
salvation praise God I'm happy that you've accepted that free gift of salvation and if
you get a gift tomorrow on Christmas day I'm happy for you I hope you get a gift on Christmas day
tomorrow but you know what I also hope that you look at your life and that you're willing to think
about ways that you could offer yourself a living sacrifice for Jesus be like these wise men that
were not thinking about the Christmas story what can they get what are the things that can be given
to them hey they came to the Lord Jesus Christ and they gave gifts unto him and what does the Bible
say is our reasonable service to give to the Lord our very bodies and we're supposed to be able we're
supposed to be willing to sacrifice everything for Christ Jesus says be thou faithful unto death
many of us are nowhere clear nowhere even close to doing that Bible says you've not yet you know
striven unto blood resisting sin you've not yet resisted unto blood striving against sin but you
know what whatever it is that God wants of us we should be willing to give that to him and during
Christmas focus less on things you are getting and how about where can I give to the Lord Jesus
Christ where in my life can I serve him more you know new year's coming up new year's resolutions
hey I want to get out there and I want to go soul winning I want to get back in church I want to be
faithful to the Lord I want to read his word I want to pray more I want to be faithful more
you know just think about areas where you could give to the Lord give to other people give to
your church rather than just thinking about what you could get let's pray Lord thank you so much
for this Christmas season Lord and thank you for all the great blessings that you've given us
Lord I'm purposing in my heart tonight and tomorrow just to be joyful to choose joy I
pray that everyone in here would do the same that you'd bless the Christmas day for every
single person in this room and also bless our fellowship and cookies this evening we love you
in Jesus name we pray amen with that we'll go ahead and sing one last song to conclude the service
before the service began there was a handout that was passed out oh holy night if anyone does not
have a handout you can slip up your hand we'll have an usher grab you forward it looks like
everyone has got it oh holy night in the handout head and start there right on the first