O room for thy holy nativity, O come to my heart, Lord Jesus, there is room in my heart for thee.
Heaven's arches rang when the angels sang, proclaiming thy royal decree.
But of lowly birth didst thou come to earth, and in great humility O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
there is room in my heart for thee. The foxes found rest, and the birds their nest in the sea of the forest green.
But thy couch was the sun, O thou Son of God, in the deserts of Galilee.
Come to my heart, Lord Jesus, there is room in my heart for thee.
Thou cameest, O Lord, with the living Word that should set thy people free.
But with mocking scorn and with crown of thorn they bore thee to Calvary.
O come to my heart, Lord Jesus, there is room in my heart for thee.
When the heavens shall ring and the angels sing, let thy love into victory.
Let thy voice call me home, saying, Yet there is room, there is room at my side for thee.
My heart shall rejoice, Lord Jesus, when thou comest wonderful.
Amen. Wonderful singing. Let's start off our service with a word of prayer.
Dear Lord God, Heavenly Father, we thank you for giving us this day, Lord,
this Christmas day that we can come to your house and we can spend this Christmas with our church family here.
We thank you, of course, Lord, first and foremost for our salvation,
for sending your son Jesus Christ, our Lord, down to be born of a virgin 2,000 years ago, Lord,
that through him we might receive the free gift of salvation.
I thank you for everyone that's in this building this morning, Lord,
and I thank you for our church, every aspect of it.
I thank you for our pastor, and I ask that you please just bless his service, Lord,
bless every aspect of the service, please bless his singing,
and please fill past him here with your spirit as he preaches your word unto us,
and give us also your spirit, Lord, that we may take the things that he teaches us and apply them to our lives.
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
You may be seated. Please turn your song hooks to song number 426.
Song number 426, I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.
Song 426, all together nice and strong on that first verse.
I heard the bells on Christmas Day Their old familiar carols play
And wild and sweet the words repeat Of peace on earth, goodwill to men
I thought how as the day had come The bell frees of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song Of peace on earth, goodwill to men
And in despair I bowed my head There is no peace on earth, I said
For hate is strong and mocks the song Of peace on earth, goodwill to men
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep God is not dead, nor doth he sleep
The right prevail With peace on earth, goodwill to men
Singing, singing on its way The world revolved from night to day
A voice, a chime, a chance, a blime Of peace on earth, goodwill to men
All right. Merry Christmas to everyone this morning. Thank you so much for being here.
Welcome to First Works Baptist Church. I'm so thankful that everyone is here for our Christmas service, of course, today.
And let me just go over the schedule in just a bit. First of all, of course, our Sunday morning service is at 10.30.
Sunday evening is typically at 5 o'clock with the exception of today.
Today we're going to have our Christmas afternoon service at 1 p.m. after lunch.
And so just keep that in mind. And then we have our Thursday night Bible study at 7 o'clock.
You see the so many times and teams, the list of expected mothers, if you can continue to pray for them.
And the important reminders there at the bottom.
Please make sure that you are supervising your children in the building.
No children should be in the mother baby room alone without their parents.
And then just keep in mind that obviously we have a lot of little ones.
And sometimes they can create a stampede in the church building.
And so please control your children so they're not running people over, amen.
And so just keep that in mind.
And then, of course, as I mentioned, is our Christmas service.
We have our service. After this we're going to have lunch in the fellowship hall.
And then we'll have service in the afternoon at 1 p.m.
Approximately, okay, depending upon how long it takes for us to kill that entire pig that's going to be put back there.
And then, of course, we're going to be fellowshipping after the service tonight.
You're welcome to stay and hang out for a little bit if you'd like.
But just know that eventually we have to close down. No, I'm just kidding.
New Year's Eve service is on Sunday, January 1st.
And then we have our Barstow zoning resuming on the 2nd of January.
We'll be meeting here at the building at 1130 for lunch.
And then we'll head out there, do a couple hours of zoning, and we'll have dinner as well.
If you're interested in participating in the Barstow zoning, you can see Brother Ulysses Hernandez for more details about that.
And we'll begin that promptly on January 2nd.
Men's prayer night is on Friday, January 6th.
And then let me give you some stats.
I was going to do this next week, but next week is the 1st of January.
I just want to give you some stats regarding what our church has accomplished as far as salvation and baptism is concerned.
In the year of 2022, salvations, we had 1,390 people get saved. Amen.
And then we've had baptisms, we had 58 baptisms.
And of course that doesn't include the salvations for this coming week and baptism as well.
And so 1,390 salvations, 58 baptisms.
We had 62 first-time visitors throughout this year.
And then 36 of them became regular attendees.
But 40% of those, listen to this, became soul winners. Amen.
And so thank the Lord for that.
Let's give the Lord a round of applause for that, for working on the hearts of people.
And we're looking forward to what the Lord's going to do this coming year as well.
And so be in prayer over that.
And thank the Lord.
No food or drink allowed in the main auditorium except for water and coffee.
Make sure you're not loitering in the foyer or fellowship hall during the preaching service.
And then you can disregard the quiet time there.
We're not going to observe that this Sunday because it's Christmas.
I don't want to be a Scrooge.
But next week we will resume that again.
Please make sure you silence your phones during the preaching so as to not be a distraction during the service.
Our next song is going to be on the sheet.
So if you did not get a sheet, go ahead and raise your hand and one of the ushers can get one for you.
And Brother John's going to come lead us in the song.
For our next song we'll be singing Infant, Holy, Infant, Lowly.
You should have both of these songs for today on your sheet.
One on the front, one on the back.
We'll be singing Infant, Holy, Infant, Lowly.
All together nice and strong on that first verse.
Infant, Holy, Infant, Lowly
For His bed a cattle stall
Oxen lowing, little knowing
Christ the Babe is Lord of all
Swift are winging, angels singing
Noels ringing, tidings ringing
Christ the Babe is Lord of all
Flocks were sleeping, shepherds keeping
Noel singing
Saw the glory, heard the sorry
Tidings of a gospel true
Thus rejoicing, free from sorrow
Praise His voicing, greet the morrow
Christ the Babe was born for you
Amen. Wonderful singing.
At this time the ushers will come forth to collect the offering.
You may turn in your Bibles to Luke chapter number two.
piano plays softly
Luke chapter number two, the Bible reads
And it came to pass in those days that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.
His taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.
It all went to be taxed, every one, into his own city.
And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, under the city of David, which is called Bethlehem,
because he was at the house and lineage of David, to be taxed with Mary, his espoused wife, being great with child.
So it was, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
She brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid.
And the angel said unto them, Fear not, for behold I bring good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord, and this shall be a sign unto you.
You shall find the babe, wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying,
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
It came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another,
Let us go now 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 this thing which was told them concerning this child.
And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.
And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.
When eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called Jesus,
which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
And when the days of her purification, according to the law of Moses, were accomplished,
they brought him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.
As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord,
and offer sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.
And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon.
And the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel.
And the Holy Ghost was upon him.
And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.
And 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,
and then took him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,
Lord, now lettest thou, thy servant, depart in peace according to thy word.
For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people,
a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.
And Joseph and his mother marveled at those things which were spoken of him.
And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother,
Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel,
and for a sign which shall be spoken against.
Yea, a sword shall pierce through thine own soul also.
But the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.
There was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher.
She was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity.
And she was a widow of about four score and four years,
which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.
And she, coming in that instant, gave thanks likewise unto the Lord,
and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.
And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord,
they returned to Galilee, their own city, to their own city, Nazareth.
A child grew and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom,
and the grace of God was upon him.
Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover.
And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast.
And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned,
the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem, and Joseph and his mother knew not of it.
But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day's journey,
and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance.
When they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him.
And it came to pass that after three days they found him in the temple,
sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them and asking them questions.
And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.
When they saw him, they were amazed, and his mother said unto him,
Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? Behold, thy father and I have sought thee, sorrowing.
And he said unto them, How is it that she sought me?
Was he not that it must be about my father's business?
And then just stood not the saying which he spake unto them.
And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them.
But his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.
And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
Let's pray to the Lord God. We just thank you for this day.
We get to honor your son, Jesus Christ,
and I thank you for this opportunity we have to assemble here with the preaching of your word,
and just ask that you be blessed.
Pastor, we're here with your Holy Spirit now as he does so,
and please just give us ears to hear it, and in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Amen.
Okay, we're in Luke chapter 2 this morning, and it's great that Christmas fell on a Sunday,
and obviously on Christmas we want to take advantage of the opportunity
to really exalt and highlight the incarnation of Christ,
which is the fact that the word of God was made flesh.
It's a staple doctrine in our faith.
It's essential for us to know and believe that Jesus Christ came to this world,
and took upon himself the form of a man, and took upon himself humanity,
so that he can die for the sins of the world.
And so we want to reiterate that story this morning, and talk about the importance of it,
and some of the significance behind some of the wording that we see in Luke chapter 2.
We look down at your Bibles in verse number 10, it says,
And the angel said unto them, Fear not, verse number 10,
for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you.
Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
The time to determine this morning is the incarnation of Christ,
or it can be this shall be a sign unto you.
And this statement here in verse number 12 is also stated in verse number 7,
where it says, And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes,
and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
And so when this is stated to the shepherds by the angel,
the angel essentially tells the shepherds,
Hey, this is what you want to look for when you go and seek out the Christ, the Lord's Christ.
This is what you want to look for.
So let me just give you a synopsis of what's taking place here in the story.
Of course, Mary and Joseph had just returned from a three month trip from Judah where Elizabeth was.
And of course, she was with child of John the Baptist.
And she's there assisting Elizabeth.
She returns from a three month trip only to find out that there's going to be a taxing by Caesar Augustus in the land,
which would require for them to go back to Judea.
So they're in Judah in the first place, helping Elizabeth.
They go back to Galilee, which is north.
They hear about this taxing that's going to take place by Caesar Augustus,
which would require for them to go back into Judea, specifically into the city of Bethlehem,
because that's where Joseph is from.
And so in order for them to take this taxing or be a part of this consensus that's taking place,
they have to be in their hometown.
But, you know, I'm sure it was kind of a drag to have to go back all the way to Judea once they just returned from there from a three month trip.
But this was all for the purpose of fulfilling the prophecy that Jesus Christ was going to be born in the city of Bethlehem.
And so it's to fulfill that prophecy.
And then it's there where the angel proclaims the birth of Christ, not to the rulers of the land,
not to the famous people of Israel, not to the most significant and prominent individuals of Judea,
not to Herod, but to who? To shepherds.
And you say, what's the significance of that?
Well, you think of shepherds in the Bible, they're not necessarily people who are essentially esteemed.
They're not necessarily people with clout or what they would consider to be of a higher class.
They're lowly shepherds with a lowly occupation, but they're highly esteemed in the eyes of God.
OK, to the point where, you know, Jesus Christ calls himself the good shepherd.
Right. And refers to those who head over congregations as shepherds, pastors, etc.
So the angels come and they declare unto the shepherds that are abiding in the field, letting them know, hey, that Christ is born.
And these are the signs that you should be looking for when you go out and seek the Lord's Christ.
He's going to be wrapped in swaddling clothes. He's going to be lying in a manger.
And of course, he was going to be in rejected by the end and placed in what we would call a barn or a stable of some sort.
So the shepherds come. They come with haste to see the Lord.
And they're very excited. And then, of course, the result of that is they make known abroad.
Right. The saying of the people or the saying of the angels that was said unto them and they begin to proclaim it to everyone.
So they get this news of the coming Christ and then they go into the city, start preaching the gospel.
They start telling people the Christ is here with excitement.
And this is a wonderful story that my family and I, we read every Christmas.
But of course, there's some significant aspects and factors to this that we're going to learn about this morning.
Now, of course, this is a direct fulfillment of the first prophecy of Jesus Christ in Genesis Chapter three.
Let me read it to you in verse 15. You're in Luke Chapter two.
Go with me if you went to Romans Chapter number eight. But hold your place in Luke Chapter two, because we're going to read a verse there.
But go to Romans Chapter eight as well.
Genesis Chapter three, verse 15 says, I will put enmity between thee and the woman and between thy seed and her seed, referring to Jesus Christ.
It shall bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise his heel.
I will put enmity between thee and the woman between thy seed and her seed and it shall bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise his heel.
So he's saying there that he's going to fulfill this prophecy of bringing a son, the seed of the woman to come and bruise the head of the serpent,
of course, via the Antichrist in the end times.
Now, Isaiah seven, verse 14 says, Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign.
Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Immanuel, which, of course, is interpreted as God with us.
I'm going to read to you from Micah Chapter five in verse number two, where the Bible reads,
But thou, Bethlehem, Ephrata, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me.
That is, to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been from of old from everlasting.
So, of course, that is the prophecy that Jesus Christ would be born in Bethlehem.
But what are the significant aspects here? Why is it that he was wrapped in swaddling clothes?
Why is it that he was placed in a manger? And why is it that there was no room for him in the inn?
Now, we can just kind of breeze over that and think to ourselves, well, there's no significance to that.
It's just how it happened. But there's actually a lot of spiritual applications that we can get from those descriptions.
The first thing that I want to mention is the fact that he was wrapped in swaddling clothes, which is typically what you do to babies, right?
It says in verse number seven of Luke Chapter six or it's Luke Chapter two, excuse me, it says,
And she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes.
Now you say, what is the picture? What does that signify, Pastor?
Well, Jesus being wrapped in swaddling clothes pictures him clothing himself with humanity, right?
He's essentially taken upon himself the garments of flesh, the garments of humanity.
It's the fact that the word of God is being made flesh. He's wrapping himself in the likeness of sinful flesh.
Look at Romans Chapter eight in verse number one.
It says here, There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walked not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh.
God sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin condemned sin in the flesh.
But the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who walked not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Go to Philippians Chapter two. We see here that in order for Jesus Christ to physically pay for our sins, he had to be made in the likeness of sinful flesh.
Now this was obviously done so that he could be tempted in all points like as we are yet without sin.
So even though he took upon himself the form of or the likeness of sinful flesh, he didn't sin because he's God himself, right?
He was tempted in all points. But we know that according to the Bible, temptation is not a sin.
It's when you give into temptation and actually transgress the law that you are sinning. That's wrong.
See, if Jesus were to take upon himself the likeness of sinful flesh and actually give into the temptations of Satan that we see in Matthew Chapter four,
he wouldn't have been God. He wouldn't have been the Savior. He wouldn't have been the Christ.
But he was able to take upon himself the form of man and his humanity and resist temptation and not given to sin and live a perfect life,
fulfill all the commandments of God in order for him to pay for our sins.
Look at Philippians Chapter two, verse number five and says,
Let this mind be in you, which is also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God,
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.
You see, Jesus Christ has always been the Son of God.
You know, a lot of people would say there's a there's a group out there that will say that,
well, Jesus Christ became the son of God when he came in Bethlehem's manger, when he was physically born of Mary.
This is what's known as oneness, right?
Modalism. And it's a false doctrine because it essentially strips Jesus Christ of his divinity that he has possessed from times past, from from eternity past.
He's always been the son of God. And in fact, you know, in the Old Testament,
prior to his birth in the Book of Daniel, chapter number three, when Meshach, Shadrach and Abednego are cast into the burning, fiery furnace,
you know, Nebuchadnezzar looks into the furnace and sees that the four there's four men in there, even though they threw three.
And he says the fourth is like unto the son of God.
OK, now don't read the modern versions because they will say the fourth is like unto the son of sons of the gods.
OK, just kind of viewing him as some other deity, some false god or whatever it may be.
But we know that what we have is correct because he is the son of God, even from eternity's past.
And you say, well, how can he be the son of God if he wasn't physically born?
Because that's just what the Bible says.
And, you know, if God calls him the son of God in the Old Testament, even prior to his birth, you know, then it's true.
You say, well, you know, I just don't understand that, though.
He should be physically born in order for him to be the son of God.
Well, you can't take things too literal, OK, because that would also mean that he would also have to have a heavenly mother as well.
But there is no heavenly mother, you know.
And, you know, the Bible talks about the queen of heaven, but that's like a false god.
OK, you know, there's only God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
And, you know, you can't apply worldly wisdom to the word of God to try to understand and interpret the Bible.
Because, you know, the Bible says that God is a king, but that doesn't mean he has a queen.
You understand?
It's just there is only one king, right?
And so we see here that he is wrapped in swaddling clothes and that signifies the fact that Jesus Christ came to this earth
and he put on sinful, the likeness of sinful flesh in order to pay for us.
But this doesn't mean that he didn't appear in times past in essentially a physical form.
But it wasn't, you know, he wasn't born into a physical form.
The Bible often describes Jesus Christ, a pre-incarnate Christ in the Old Testament, not revealing him by the name of Jesus.
But we often see a pre-incarnate Christ revealing himself to different prophets and different believers of times past.
And, of course, he didn't reveal his name in those times.
He was known as the Lord.
He was known as God Almighty.
But it wasn't until he was born that he was manifested and realized as Jesus.
The Bible says in 1 Timothy chapter 3, go with me if you would to 1 John chapter 1, and then we're going to go to Galatians chapter 4.
1 Timothy chapter 3 verse 16 says,
And without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness.
God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
You know, think about this.
The fact that Jesus Christ was born, he was already king from eternity's past.
But, you know, he didn't necessarily get a red carpet welcome, though, right?
He was lightly esteemed.
He was wrapped in swaddling clothes.
There wasn't necessarily a welcome party by this world to receive the God of the universe.
And this kind of shows us his humility.
You know, he deserved a great welcoming.
He deserved the red carpet.
He deserved a scepter and a crown.
He deserved all these things, but he essentially allowed himself to be born in such a lowly state, okay,
in order to show us, to be an example unto us, how we should also be humble as well, okay.
It says in 1 John chapter 1 verse number 1,
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled of the word of life.
You see, in times past he wasn't flesh, but the Bible says in John 1 14 that the word of God was made flesh and dwelt among us and would be held as glory,
the glory as if it had only begun with a father full of grace and truth.
And the Bible says that it's at that point that they were able to handle with their own hands the word of life, okay.
Look at Galatians chapter 4, Galatians chapter number 4.
So we're looking at the significance of the swaddling clothes, the fact that he wrapped himself in humanity.
He wrapped himself in humility, humanity.
He wrapped himself in the likeness of sinful flesh, the fashion as a man.
He wrapped himself as a servant unto humans and unto us.
It says in Galatians chapter 4 verse number 4,
But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, listen to this, made of a woman, made under the law.
You say, well, what's the significance of that?
Well, he had to be physically born of a woman.
You know, there's another teaching out there that will claim that, well, you know, Mary doesn't even count, you know.
You know, he was born in her womb, but, you know, she only operated as an oven or something like that, you know.
Just kind of weird statements that are made by people who just want to have an edge on the truth, but they fell off the edge, amen.
You know, the Bible says here that he was made of a woman.
He was made under the law, okay.
Look what it says in verse number 5,
To redeem them that were under the law that we might receive the adoption of sons.
So in order for him to pay for our sins, he would have to be made in the likeness of sinful flesh and essentially keep all of God's commandments
and keep all of God's laws perfectly all the days of his life until his death.
He was made under the law.
So he didn't come to destroy the law but to fulfill the law.
And we could apply that in two ways.
He fulfilled the law.
He fulfilled the shadow of things to come, the aspects of the law such as the animal sacrifices because he was the Lamb of God who should take away the sins of the world.
He fulfilled many of the shadowing that we see in the Old Testament, but he also fulfilled the law in the sense that he kept all of God's commandments perfectly, okay.
Now why is that important?
Well, you know, because of the fact that a person or human's natural propensity is to want to keep the law in order to obtain salvation, right.
You know, a lot of times people want to participate in their own salvation and think that they have to do good things, do good works,
keep God's commandments, do God's laws in order to merit eternal life, in order to merit the gift, okay.
And that's completely false, okay.
And that would essentially disregard all of the work that Jesus Christ did throughout his life in keeping God's commandments perfectly.
You see, when someone says, no, you have to keep the law in order to be saved, they're essentially saying that the effort that Jesus Christ put into keeping God's laws is completely insignificant.
It's not enough, it's insufficient funds to purchase my salvation.
But, folks, you know, the Bible tells us, therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
We can't keep the law in order to be saved because the Bible tells us that he that keepeth the whole law, yet offended one point, is guilty of all.
So even if you've done a great job not being a thief and not bearing false witness, which pretty much no one has, okay.
And if you claim that you have, you just broke that law right now by lying, amen.
Because pretty much everyone has lied, everyone has borne false witness at one point or another.
But let's say you just kept all these laws perfectly.
Well, you know what, if you break one of them, guess what, you're basically guilty of every single one, okay.
You know, we have to realize that Jesus Christ came to redeem them that were under the law.
He placed himself under the law to keep the law in order for us to be saved.
You know, during Christmas we often give gifts one to another, right.
And one of the reasons that we do that is because obviously we see the example of the three wise men bringing gifts unto the Lord.
But also because of the fact that the purpose of Christmas is to recognize that God the Father gave humanity the greatest gift in all of history,
which is His Son Jesus Christ in order to purchase our salvation.
And, you know, when we give gifts to our children it should never be, you know, because it's only if you're good.
You know, I'll give you a gift if you're good.
I'll give you a gift if you behave yourself and you do as I say and you make your bed and you throw out the trash
and you eat your vegetables and you make this long list of things that they have to do in order to get that gift.
Guess what? Don't call it a gift. Say that they're working for it.
You know, because that's exactly what it is.
The very purpose of the fact that God gave us Jesus Christ is the fact that He's a gift.
The Bible says, For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves.
It is the gift of God, not of works that any man should boast.
And the significance of that is the fact that Jesus Christ paid it in full by His obedience to the law that He placed Himself under but also by His death.
And His resurrection. He's completely paid that gift in full, therefore we are not to work for it.
He wrapped Himself in the humanity, the swaddling clothes of humanity in order to fulfill all of the laws.
And look, thank God that we don't have to keep the law in order to be saved.
It's hard to just keep one commandment.
I mean, even during Christmas, you know, people break the commandment of not being covetous, amen?
They break the commandment of not being greedy, of covetousness, of desiring things that they should not have, or whatever it may be.
You know, there's a lot of breaking of the commandments throughout the Christmas season, let's just be honest, okay?
And so if our salvation was based upon our obedience to God, no one would make it.
No one can make it, okay?
Because of the fact that there's only one perfect person in this world that has ever existed that continually exists, and that is Jesus Christ, who wrapped Himself in the swaddling clothes of humanity.
Go to Hebrews chapter number 10. Hebrews chapter number 10.
Let's look at Hebrews chapter number 10 and verse number 1, it says,
For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers their unto perfect.
Now this is a great verse to show dispensationalists who believe that Old Testament saints were saved under the law.
You know, that they had to keep the law, such as doing the animal sacrifices, because Hebrews chapter 10 specifically tells us that that's impossible, okay?
And in fact, it says in verse number 2, For then would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshippers once purged should have no more conscience of sins.
He's approaching the Hebrews with the logical conclusion that if it were possible for the blood of bulls and the goats to take away sins, then they should have only done it once.
Because once offered, once purged of all the conscience of sins.
But folks, we see throughout the Old Testament that animal sacrifices were done on a daily basis.
Why? Because of the fact that the blood of bulls and of goats cannot take away sins.
And in fact, it says there in verse 3, But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year.
For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.
Here's the solution, verse 5, Wherefore, when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice an offering thou wouldst not, but a body hast thou prepared me.
What does that mean? He's going to wrap him in the swaddling clothes of humanity in order for him to be offered for our sins.
And burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin, thou hast had no pleasure.
That's why the animal sacrifices don't exist anymore, okay?
Because it can't please God. The only sacrifice that God will accept is the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
Now what is the application that we can get from Jesus Christ wrapping himself in the swaddling clothes of humanity?
Well, you know, it kind of shows us that we in like manner should also be humble.
And we in like manner should be clothed with that type of attitude and humility.
Look at 1 Peter chapter 5, 1 Peter chapter number 5, if you would.
The application there is that if Jesus Christ, who's the king of the universe, was willing to subject himself to the laws of this world and be born under the law and be born in such a lowly manner,
you know, we in like manner should not be proud. We shouldn't be arrogant. We shouldn't be puffed up.
Look at verse number 5 of 1 Peter 5, likewise ye younger submit yourselves unto the elder, yea all of you be subject one to another, listen to this, and be clothed with humility.
Why? For God resists the proud and giveth grace unto the humble.
We as God's people especially should seek to on a daily basis be clothed with the swaddling clothes of humility, right?
On a daily basis recognize that we are nothing apart from Jesus Christ, that we didn't earn our salvation, everything that we have has been given to us by God.
The Bible says that every good gift and every perfect gift cometh from above, from the Father of lights, in whom there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
Any good that has happened in our life is because of God and it's because of others, amen?
It's because of God, it's because of our parents, it's because of God, it's because of our church, it's because of God, it's because of the brothers and sisters in Christ.
You know, we should not be boasting of anything in this life, we should be clothed with humility.
When you get up in the morning and you brush your teeth hopefully and you shower hopefully or whatever, you know, when you put on your clothes and you're getting ready,
you know, one article of clothing you just should never forget is the clothing of humility, right?
Leaving your household recognizing, Lord help me to be humble today, help me to be filled with humility and not with pride and arrogance and think myself to be something when I'm not.
You know, help me to condescend to men of low estate and to remember the fact that Jesus Christ himself, who can boast if he wanted to,
he can exalt himself if he wanted to but he chose not to, he clothed himself, he was willing to be wrapped with humility in order to come to us.
And so we in like manner should be clothed with that humility, with meekness, with the attitude and the mindset of being a servant, okay?
And you know, that message is important today only because pride is so prevalent today with social media, with the internet and with just all the agendas that are being pushed.
You know, you see, you go through social media and all you see is a bunch of people just taking selfies and just priding themselves in their possessions,
priding themselves and the money that they have and wanting clout, you know, we should be humble as Christians.
The Bible tells us in Romans chapter 13 and verse 14, but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ and make not provision for the flesh to fulfill the lust thereof.
Now what's another thing that we can learn? Go back to Luke chapter 2, Luke chapter 2 and then we're going to go to John chapter 6.
So what's the first sign that we see? He says, look for a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, okay?
And of course that signifies the fact that he clothed himself with humanity, with humility, with the likeness of sinful flesh and that we in like manner should be clothed with the same.
But the second thing that we see, the second sign is that he was laid in a manger.
Now this is pretty interesting because, you know, Mary is about to give birth and the Bible tells us that there was no room in the inn.
Inn is referring to a hotel of some sort and, you know, there's a lot of speculation.
People say, well, he wasn't really born in a barn. He wasn't really born in a stable.
It was just like a lower floor of an inn, you know, where the animals hang out.
Okay, but that's still a barn though. The point is that he was born where animals hang out, which is not necessarily a common place for a baby to be, okay?
And then he's placed in a manger. Now, you know, when we think of a manger because of Christmas, it's always clean, it looks nice and everything.
A manger is an animal trough. It's where animals eat out of, okay?
And, you know, so we obviously see that from birth, you know, Jesus is, he's getting all the germs.
His immunity is being boosted because, I mean, he's like right there from the start, okay?
And who knows what type of animals are eating out of there.
But he's placed in a manger and, you know, that's no place for a king.
That's no place for the God of the Bible.
You know, he should have had a welcome party. I mean, he's born in Israel.
It's not like nobody knows about the prophecy that he's going to be born to, by the way.
You know, because we're going to see tonight or at one, I'm going to preach on the three wise men.
We're going to see that, you know, Herod had a wise man and prophets and scribes at his disposal
where they can easily interpret the scriptures and let him know that he was going to be born in Bethlehem, okay?
You know, they should have waited and prayed and sought out the Lord.
But instead, he's being born in a little city of Bethlehem, you know, with no welcome party, no red carpet
and not even suitable, a suitable bed or suitable room for him to be comfortable in.
He's laid in a manger, which is where people eat, or animals eat out of, okay?
It says in verse number 12,
This shall be a sign unto you, ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
A very humble beginning. Now go to John chapter 6, if you would, John chapter 6.
So a manger is a source of food for animals.
And in like manner, the symbolic representation that we get here is that Jesus is the source of salvation
because he is compared to the bread of life.
So just as he's placed in a manger, or just as food is placed in a manger for animals to eat out of,
in like manner, Jesus is placed in a manger for the entire world to come and eat of him
and how they're going to obtain salvation.
Now I'm not teaching transubstantiation this morning, okay?
You know, Catholicism will teach that, you know, in this doctrine called transubstantiation
that essentially claims that when they do communion and they drink of the wine and eat of the bread
that it literally becomes the body of Christ and it literally becomes the blood of Jesus
in the person's body after they consumed it.
Now there's a word for that, it's called cannibalism, okay?
The Bible does not teach cannibalism and it's actually completely against it, okay?
But look at John chapter 6 and verse 28
The word Jesus Christ describes this here in verse 28 says,
Then said they unto him, What shall we do that we might work the works of God?
Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, the believe on him whom he hath sent.
So you know, people come to him and said, what do I have to do to work for salvation?
And he's like, here's the word, believe, okay?
Now this doesn't mean that believing is a work.
He's being facetious obviously, okay?
By saying, look, the only work you can do is believe.
And at that point they should have been like, oh well that's not a work.
Ah, you got it right, it's not a work, okay?
He says in verse 30, Then said they said therefore unto him,
What sign showest thou then that we may see and believe thee, and what does that work?
So they continue on with this concept of works.
Verse 31 says, Our fathers did eat manna in the desert, as it is written,
He gave them bread from heaven to eat.
So basically they're asking for a sign, they're like, you know,
our spiritual fathers, they asked bread of God and he sent, you know, like spiritual bread,
bread of, food of angels, as the book of Psalms puts it, right?
Down from heaven, and so they want him to do something similar.
They want him to bring down some sort of bread, they want him to, you know,
create some sort of sign to indicate that he is who he says he is.
Verse 32, Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Moses gave you not that bread from heaven, but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
So he's like, alright, before you give too much credibility to Moses, first of all,
he ain't the one who gave it to you.
God is the one who gave it to you, okay?
And God is the one who gives you the true bread from heaven.
Verse 33, For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven and giveth life unto the world.
Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.
They're like, man, this gives lives, this sounds great, it's from heaven, let's have it.
Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life.
He that cometh to me shall never hunger, he that believeth on me shall never thirst,
but I say unto you that ye also have seen me and believe not.
So he basically drives home the point to say that he is that bread of life,
not that they're going to physically eat him, this is not a chapter teaching on the Lord's Supper,
it's not teaching transubstantiation, it's symbolic.
He even notifies them that it is symbolic by saying, if you believe on me spiritually,
it's like you're eating of the bread of life, just as your fathers ate bread in the wilderness
and were sustained physically in like manner, if you were to eat of me, which is to believe on Jesus Christ,
you would be sustained spiritually for all of eternity, okay?
Look at verse 47, barely, rarely I say unto you, he that believeth on me hath everlasting life,
I am that bread of life, your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness and are dead.
So as good as that bread was from heaven, it wasn't good enough to just perpetually keep them alive.
He said they ate it and they're dead.
This is the bread, verse 15, which coming down from heaven that a man may eat thereof and not die.
Now this is a great verse to prove that you can't lose your salvation.
Because he says once you eat of this bread, you'll die.
See the ones who believe you can lose your salvation are essentially looking for the first bread.
They're looking for the manna from heaven because they want to continuously eat of that bread to be sustained.
Whereas God says, no, the bread of life which is Jesus Christ is that which gives life unto you and you never die.
Once you have it, you will not die.
You will not suffer the same consequences of death that your father suffered in the wilderness.
You'll live forever, okay?
Verse 51, I am the living bread which came down from heaven.
If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever.
And the bread that I will give is my flesh which I will give for the life of the world.
The Jews therefore strove among themselves saying, how can this man give us his flesh to eat?
It's so literal. He just told you it's just by believing.
He's like, how is he going to do that? There's not even enough meat on him to like feed everyone in this room.
You know, how can this man give us his flesh to eat?
It's like don't take it so literal.
He's obviously giving you a spiritual application here.
Verse 53, Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
So I like what Jesus did here because they're asking, how is he going to give his flesh to eat?
Most people would be like, you know what, maybe that just went over your head.
I'm going to use a simpler example.
He just doubles down.
He's like, I'm going to give you my flesh and my blood.
Now why would he do that?
Well because of the fact that these people should be smart enough and have enough common sense that he's not referring literally to his flesh and his blood.
But because they're acting so dumb, he's like, I'm going to double down and add blood to that.
Now anybody reading this can see he's not referring to his physical body as far as like offering it for them to eat.
He says in verse number 54, Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.
For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood dwelleth in me, and I in him.
As the living Father hath sent me, I live by the Father, so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.
This is that bread which came down from heaven, not as your fathers did eat and are dead.
He that eateth of this bread shall live forever.
Now you say, well how do you know this isn't teaching what the Catholics teach of transubstantiation?
Well number one, because he already told us that, he already made the correlation that that means that you believe on him, right?
But look at verse 63, he says, it is the Spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing, the words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit and they are life, the Bible says.
You know throughout Jesus' ministry when he is explaining salvation and he's giving examples and allegories and parables about it,
he's using the physical world and that which we're accustomed to knowing in order to communicate those truths, right?
You know, he not only says you have to eat of his flesh and drink of his blood, he also says like he's the door to heaven, I am the door.
It doesn't mean, you know, he's like a physical door, right?
You know, he calls himself the lamb of God, it doesn't mean he's a physical lamb.
He calls himself the bread of life, he says he has waters that you can drink out of, it doesn't mean he's like Aquaman or something.
You know, it doesn't mean he's made out of H2O or something like that.
These are all physical things in this world that communicate a factor of salvation, okay?
And it's meant to communicate in such a way that you can understand Jesus is like that physical door to heaven that you have to go through
because no man cometh unto the Father but by me.
You can't go into heaven without going through the door of Jesus Christ by faith.
You cannot live forever without eating of the bread of life and drinking of the water of life freely, okay?
You know, so many other examples, he calls himself the vine, I am the true vine.
It doesn't mean that he's a plant, it simply means it's signifying the fact that through him, you know, when people get saved and bear fruit,
they're essentially attached to the vine, okay?
And so we see that the reason he was born in the manger is to signify that everyone is to come to him for salvation.
There's no other place you can come to.
You can only obtain salvation by eating of his flesh, drinking of his blood via believing on Jesus Christ for salvation.
And of course, the reason he mentions his flesh and the reason he mentions his blood is because that's what he is sacrificing for our sins.
When he was crucified on the cross, he was scourged, he was beaten and bruised, he was spat upon and he shed his blood.
And the Bible says that without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin, okay?
Now go with me if you would to Matthew chapter 4, Matthew chapter 4 if you would.
Pretty simple truth this morning, but we want to exalt the incarnation of Christ and explain the importance of what it means to us as Christians.
And see that, you know, there's some underlying spiritual truths behind it.
The fact that he was wrapped in swaddling clothes, he wrapped himself in the swaddling clothes of humanity, of the likeness of sinful flesh, of humility, for the sins of the world.
He also was laid in a manger because everyone is to come to him for everlasting life as we see according to John chapter 6.
But you know, here's the thing is that every single person in this room, hopefully, maybe there's a few who haven't yet,
has gone to that manger at one point in their life to receive salvation, right?
We've come to that manger and, you know, as sheep so to speak, amen?
We go to that manger and we feed off of Jesus Christ in order to have eternal life.
But here's the thing, once we leave that manger, we're going to keep coming back.
Not for salvation, but now to be sustained in this lifetime, spiritually speaking, okay?
Because once we eat that first meal, you know, we're good to go.
We're saved forever. However, you know, it's important that as Christians we continuously feast on the word of God.
Jesus Christ being the word of God in order to be sustained spiritually in this lifetime.
The Bible says in Matthew chapter 4, verse number 4,
But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeded out of the mouth of God.
This is talking about. It's talking about the fact that, yeah, we need salvation to have eternal life.
But you know what? We also need to read the word of God every single day in order to be sustained spiritually.
Now, if you don't read God's word, it doesn't mean you lose your salvation because that's already sealed.
Jesus said, I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish.
Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
The Bible says that we are saved unto the day of redemption.
It doesn't say unto the day that you sin and lose your salvation.
It says unto the day of redemption.
However, as Christians, you know, in order for us to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
in order for us to be righteous, in order for us to be holy, in order for us to succeed and be blessed of God,
we need to read the Bible every single day.
In order for us to live spiritually in this lifetime, we need to read God's word.
And in fact, as Job said, Esteem the words of his mouth more than our necessary foods.
Now, we're going to esteem a pig this afternoon. Amen?
That pig is very much esteemed and, you know, we're going to feast this Christmas.
And I'm sure many of you have already feasted since yesterday.
However, just remember this is that more important than our necessary foods is the necessary word of God.
And yeah, we need to feed this physical flesh in order to live on a day-to-day basis.
However, you know, in order for the new man, the inner man to be renewed day by day, we need to read God's word.
And, you know, unfortunately Christians don't esteem God's word as much anymore.
You know, they don't read it on a day-to-day basis.
And I would hope that, you know, as we're going into the new year, that you would have some goals for yourself to read the Bible cover to cover.
Okay? And I'm all for you reading through the New Testament a couple times, but you know what?
You should read the entire Bible in 2023.
If you're a brand new Christian, you just got saved within the last couple of months and we have a lot of those in our church,
you know, your goal should be on January 1st to be in Genesis chapter 1, amen?
Verse number 1.
And to actually read the word of God every single day and make it a priority in your life.
And not just say, well, I got some Bible reading at church.
You know, I heard the Bible at church.
I listened to this pastor online.
Or, you know, I listened to the, you know, the, I don't know, the Daily Bread or something.
Maybe there's like a Reader's Digest version of that or something, you know.
I did some sort of devotional.
Well, the only devotional that you should be occupying yourself with is opening God's word and actually reading it.
Because there's nothing more powerful than God's word.
The word of God is quick and powerful, sharpened in a two-edged sword.
It pierces even to the dividing of center of soul and spirit, joints of the marrow.
It is the discernment of the thoughts of the intents of the heart.
This is what we need on a day-to-day basis.
Not just to clean up our hearts of all the filth of this world that we have a tendency to consume sometimes,
but also to embed righteousness in.
To learn of Jesus Christ, to learn the word of God, and to have our minds renewed, okay?
And so, you know, we as God's people came to that manger at one point because we're at the point of death.
You know, and we fed out of that manger, received eternal life.
However, thereafter, we just keep coming back.
Not necessarily to have salvation again because we can't lose it,
but rather so that we can be spared of the wrath here in this world, right?
By learning of the consequences of sin, learning what do we need to do as Christians to be blessed of God, etc.
Go with me, if you would, to Isaiah chapter 53.
Isaiah chapter 53, these are the signs.
The first sign is that he was wrapped in swaddling clothes, the swaddling clothes of humanity,
the swaddling clothes of the likeness of sinful flesh.
He was also placed in a manger to signify that the world would need to come to him.
The sheep of this world would have to come to him in order to have eternal life
and that we as God's people should come to him on a continual basis to feast upon God's word
and eat thereof on a day-to-day basis.
But we also see in Luke chapter number 2 that there is no room for him in the inn, okay?
Now this is sad. This is really sad.
First of all, it's sad because of the fact that he's Jesus, right?
But secondly, like, why would you turn away a pregnant woman, you know?
Isn't that weird?
I mean, we thought it was bad here in the United States, but man, I mean, Mary is with child,
she's about to have the baby, and the innkeeper is just like, sorry, no vacancies, you know?
You would think like some innkeeper would be like, you know what, you guys can stay with me or something.
But thankfully, there's someone with enough compassion to put him in a stable, though.
Like, hey, no vacancies, but we got a stable for you, you know?
And by the way, we got a manger if you need to put the baby there or something.
It's just like, what in the world?
He said, why is that?
Because of the fact that Jesus Christ, from day one, was hated in this world,
was not esteemed by many in this world, okay?
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.
Now, what does comeliness mean?
It means beauty.
So physically, he wasn't necessarily a sight to see, according to Isaiah 53.
He said he had no form nor comeliness.
What's going on here?
No form nor comeliness, and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
Now, what's interesting is that when the Bible's describing him physically as not having any beauty,
that we should desire him, but the Bible also says in Haggai chapter 2 verse number 7,
that he is the desire of all nations.
So, is that a contradiction?
What does that mean?
It means that physically, he wasn't desired of this world.
However, what this world doesn't realize is that he is what they need.
And every nation in this world has a desire for something that Jesus actually possesses.
They want justice.
They want order.
They want peace.
They want to live forever.
And guess what?
They find it in him.
He is the desire of all nations.
He says in verse number 3,
He is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from him.
He was despised, listen to this, and we esteemed him not.
So from the very start, even as a baby, he was despised and rejected.
He wasn't allowed to go into the common inn as every other human being was allowed to.
He was placed in a manger, in a stable, essentially showing that he came into his own and his own received him not.
So right from the start, the Bible says in John 15 verse 15,
by the way, this is an important verse here.
If you ever go through this year wondering like, man, why does my family hate me?
Or, you know, why does my best friend hate me?
Or why all this?
Just remember this, okay?
John 15 verse 15,
If the world hate you, you know that it hated me before it hated you.
Just saying, look, if you ever find yourself in a situation where no one is esteeming you,
they're despising you, they're rejecting you,
you feel like an outcast out of your own family,
you feel like an outcast out of your, you know, your group of friends or whatever,
or people that you know, whatever it may be, just know this,
you are essentially in good company, amen?
Because Jesus Christ was hated before all that.
He was rejected before all of that.
He says in verse 22 of John 15,
If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin, but now they have no cloak for their sin.
He that hateth me, hateth my Father also.
If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin,
but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father.
But this cometh to pass that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law,
they hated me without a cause.
And look, a baby can't do anything to make you mad.
He's just being born, he's just being born.
And yet, they are not esteeming him, in a sense they're despising him,
and they're doing it without a cause, okay?
John 17 in verse 14, turn with me if you would to Matthew chapter 24, if you would, Matthew chapter 24.
John 17 in verse 14, Jesus praying for his disciples says,
I have given them thy word, and the world hath hated them.
Because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
Now, what's the significance of him not being received in the end?
Well, it's showing us that he's obviously despised and rejected,
but it should be an example unto us, my friends, that we in like manner should expect the same.
You see, we shouldn't be Christians to expect that the entire world is going to love us,
and they're going to praise us, and we're going to be in right standings with the world.
It doesn't work that way.
If they call the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call him of his household?
If they called Jesus the devil, they called him Satan, they despised him,
well, how do you think they're going to treat you if you are a part of his household?
If you are a spiritual descendant of him, you know, the Bible says that he that believeth on the Son,
or excuse me, the Bible says, but as many as receive unto them give me power to become the sons of God,
even unto them that believe in his name.
As sons of God, we're going to be treated in like manner if we live as Jesus,
if we believe the Bible, if we proclaim God's word.
This is the result that we can expect from a lost and dying world,
is that they're not going to receive us into the end.
They're going to reject us.
They're going to place us in a place that is not esteemed.
The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 4, verse 10,
We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ.
We are weak, but ye are strong.
Ye are honorable, but we are despised, the Bible says.
And, you know, we can't buy into this modern day message of Christianity that says that pretty much everyone should love us.
Because if everyone loves you, that means you're a compromiser.
And you should just switch to being a politician, amen?
You know, if everyone loves you in this world, that means you're not living according to the Bible.
Because there's certain things in the Bible that the Bible teaches that we are to live as that goes contrary and rubs,
you know, it just goes against the grain, it rubs people the wrong way.
And there's ideologies and teachings and doctrines in the Bible that just completely go against what the world believes.
And so, yeah, will you find a couple of shepherds that are cool with you?
Yeah.
Will you find maybe a couple of wise men that will come to you and esteem you?
Yeah, but the vast majority of them will either be like the innkeeper or they'll be like Herod.
You know, they want you wiped off the face of the earth.
They want Christianity to just be completely gone because they feel like it's a disease, it's a cancer or whatever it may be.
And so we shouldn't be, you know, we should not think it's strange when the fiery trial shall come upon us, amen?
This is what they did to Jesus from the very start all the way to the end.
They placed him in a manger at the beginning of his life and then they placed him in a borrowed tomb at the end of his life.
Not necessarily something, you know, that is comely for a king.
But that's how they treated him in this world and in like manner we should expect the same.
Matthew 24, verse number 9 says,
Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted and shall kill you and ye shall be hated of all nations, listen to this, for my name's sake.
And make sure it's for his name's sake, by the way.
If they hate you because you're a jerk or because, you know, you're just a mean person or whatever, that's your problem, okay?
The Bible says we shall be hated of all nations for his name's sake and we see that from the very start.
So what are the couple lessons that we learned this morning regarding the incarnation of Christ?
Well, Jesus Christ was wrapped in swaddling clothes signifying that he was wrapped in the swaddling clothes of humanity.
He took upon himself the form and the likeness of sinful flesh for us.
This is what we're celebrating today, amen?
We're celebrating the fact that, you know, he didn't have to come, he didn't have to plan all this,
he didn't have to be born and suffer as a man and feel the pains of a man and feel the rejection of man and be acquainted with grief.
But he did. He did it for us.
And we as Christians should take time to think upon, meditate upon that, shed a tear for that,
the fact that he did put on himself that humanity and suffered greatly because he loved us.
And not only that, but he was placed in a manger to signify that we're to come to him to feast on his flesh and on his blood for eternal life
and then thereafter to be sustained spiritually on a day-to-day basis.
And then lastly, recognizing that there's no room for him in the end,
this would essentially characterize his entire ministry of being rejected and despised of men as it should characterize our life as well, amen?
Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer.
Father, we thank you so much for the incarnation of Christ and what it means to us.
What a special, wonderful doctrine that is.
And we're so thankful for Jesus.
Our soul doth magnify the Lord this morning as we think upon what you did for us,
the fact that you breached the realm between eternity and here, our physical world, to come to us 2,000 years ago.
Lord, may we keep it on the forefront of our minds as we think upon it this day and as we celebrate it
and recognize, Lord, that we receive the greatest gift of all, which is Jesus Christ and the salvation that he brought to us by our faith in him.
And I pray, Lord, that you help us to give heed unto the doctrine, give heed unto the incarnation
and give you thanks today. We love you, we thank you, and we pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen.
All together nice and strong on that first verse.
This, this is Christ, the King whom shepherds guard with faith.
Haste, haste to bring him laud the babe, the Son of Mary.
Why lies he in such mean estate, where ox and ass are feeding?
Good Christian, fear for sinners here, the Word is pleading.
Nailspear shall pierce him through, the cross be born for me, for you.
Hail, hail the word made flesh, the babe, the Son of Mary.
So bring him incense, gold, and myrrh to own him.
The King of kings, salvation brings when loving hearts enthroned him.
Raise, raise the song on high, the Virgin saves her love of high.
Joy, joy for Christ is born, the Son of Mary.
Alright Gracie, just a quick announcement.
The lechon is 30 minutes late, and so it's going to come though, relax.
But if you could do us a favor and just allow our visitors, there's food out there right now,
but just allow our visitors, we should esteem them more because they're new.
So if you can allow our visitors to eat first and then we'll have food thereafter, that's pretty much it.
Let me pray for the food and then we'll be dismissed.
Father we thank you again for the birth of Christ and what it means to us as Christians.
I pray that you bless this meal and bless the fellowship.