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["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] Alright folks, welcome to Anchor Baptist Church. It is about that time to get started this morning. morning. If you would go ahead and grab a hymnal and turn to our first hymn number 434, O Little Town of Bethlehem. Hymn number 434 434, O Little Town of Bethlehem. We'll sing there starting on the first. O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie, above thy deep and dreamless sea, the silent stars go by. Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting light, the hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight. For Christ is born of Mary and gathered all above. While mortals sleep the angels keep their watch of wondering love. O morning stars together, propane the Holy Word, and praises sing to God the King and peace to men on earth. How silently, how silently the one product's gift is given, so God imparts to human hearts the blessings of his hand. No hearing here is coming, but in this world of sin, where these souls will receive him still, the dear Christ enters in. O holy child of Bethlehem, descend to us, we pray. Cast out our sin and enter in, be born in us today. We hear the Christmas angels, the great glad tidings tell. O come to us, abide with us, our Lord Emmanuel. Amen. We'll open with a word of prayer if you bow your heads with me. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this day, for another day to gather together and just sing out praises, and especially during this season, Lord, to just focus on the birth of your Son, Jesus Christ, and all the great blessings that's imparted to us through faith. I pray that you just be with us for the service, that everything would be done decently and in order, that you would open our ears to the message that you've laid on our pastor's heart this morning. These things we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Alright, for our next hymn, turn back a page, if you would, to Away in a Manger, hymn number 433, Away in a Manger, 433. We'll sing there on the first. Little Lord Jesus, I'll sleep on the hay, The cattle are lowing, the baby awaits, But little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes. I love thee, Lord Jesus, look down from the sky, And stay but my cradle till morning is nigh. Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask thee to stay, Post by me forever and love me, I pray. Lest all the dear children in thy tender care, And take us to heaven to live with thee there. Amen. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to Anchor Baptist Church. At this time, we'll go through some announcements. Just keep those hands up if you need a bulletin. On the front is our Bible memory passage of the week, Hebrews chapter 6, verse 19, and this is the theme verse of our church. So if there's any verse you should memorize throughout this one, this is definitely the one to memorize. Great verse there. Hope we have as an anchor of the soul, and of course we know that's talking about the Lord Jesus Christ. Great verse there. On the inside is our service times listed there, 1030 a.m. on Sundays, 430 p.m. on Sundays, and our Wednesday evening Bible study at 7 o'clock p.m. All of our soul winning times as well are listed there, and those meet here at the church building. And it's pretty cool, the last two weekends in a row of our church out soul winning, we've met other soul winners out there. So God is blessing Oklahoma City. This is a great place to preach the gospel. It's a place where God is sending laborers. So definitely excited to preach the gospel here. It's a great place to go soul winning. Nursing home ministry schedule is listed there, Brother Cameron preaching today, Brother Theodore next week, so make note of that, guys. Our Anchor Baptist Church statistics year to date, 537 salvation so far for the year. That's a great number. Keep up the great work for that. And please be in prayer for Ms. Whitney Reed, expecting lady of the church for her pregnancy. And upcoming events, lots of events in December. It's a great month to be in church for sure. And there's even another one added as of this week. December 20th is going to be the ladies' Christmas party. There's some details down below if you'd like to read those. December 21st is going to be our Christmas soul winning push on that Saturday soul winning rally. Food is going to be served at 9 a.m. Soul winning rally is going to start at 10. December 25th, right after the evening service, we are going to have a cookie bake off. And I didn't put the details of that in the bulletin. I probably will do that for this evening, but I did send it in our signal group. So if you have any questions, you can go read that in our signal group or just talk to me. Online giving is there with that QR code. If you'd like to give online to our church, you can scan that. And on the back, as always, is our prayer list. There's a new one added this week for Ms. Remy, so do be in prayer for her. Also, it's that time of year where a lot of people are getting sick on and off, so just be praying for the health of our church as well, for all of our kiddos as well. And that's going to be it for announcements this morning. We'll go ahead and go to our third song. Alright, for our third song this morning, turn, if you would, to 432, Angels from the Realms of Glory. 432, 432, Angels from the Realms of Glory. We'll sing there on the first. Angels from the Realms of Glory, Wing your flight o'er all the earth. He who sang creation's glory, Now proclaim Messiah's birth. Come and worship, come and worship, Worship Christ the newborn King. Shepherds in the field abiding, Watching warriors walk by night. God with men is now residing, Gondershines the infant life. Come and worship, come and worship, Worship Christ the newborn King. Sages, leave your contemplation, Brighter visions, be the four. Seek the great desire of nations, He hath seen his natal scar. Come and worship, come and worship, Worship Christ the newborn King. Saints before thee, all defending, Watching long in hope and fear. Suddenly the Lord descending, In his temple shall appear. Come and worship, come and worship, Worship Christ the newborn King. Hey, and good singing this morning. As the offering plates are being passed, turn, if you would, to Luke chapter number two. Luke chapter number two. Luke chapter number two. We're in Luke chapter one. Luke chapter one. One. Luke chapter one. For as many have taken in hand to set in forth an order, a decoration of those things which are most surely believed among us, even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word, it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order most excellent Theopolis, that thou mightest know the certainty of those things wherein thou hast been instructed. There was in the days of Herod, the King of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia, and his wife, was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. And they had no child, because that Elizabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years. And it came to pass, while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course, according to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. And a whole multitude of the people were praying without, at the time of incense. And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord, standing in the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. And the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias, for thy prayer is heard, and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John, and thou shalt have joy and gladness, and many shall rejoice at his birth, for he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink, and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God, and he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, and make ready a people prepared for the Lord. And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years, and the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God, I am sent to speak unto thee, and to show thee these glad tidings, and behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believeth not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season. And the people waited for Zacharias, and marveled that he tarried so long in the temple, and when he came out he could not speak unto them, and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple, for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless. And it came to pass that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed in his own house. And after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying, Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men. And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her and said, Hail, thou art highly favored, the Lord is with thee, bless art thou among women. And when she saw him he was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favor with God, and behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest, and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David. And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee. Therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And behold thy cousin Elizabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For with God nothing is impossible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her. And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste into a city of Judah, and entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elizabeth. And it came to pass that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost. And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Bless art thou among women, and bless is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. And blessed is she that believed, for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord. And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior. For he hath regarded the lowest state of his handmaiden, for behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things, and holy is his name. And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. He hath showed strength with his arm, and hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he hath sent away empty. He hath opened his servant Israel in remembrance of his mercy. And he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed forever. And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house. Now Elizabeth's full time came that she should be delivered, and she brought forth a son. And her neighbors and her cousins heard how the Lord had showed great mercy upon her, and they rejoiced with her. And it came to pass that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father. And his mother answered and said, Not so, but he shall be called John. And they said unto her, This is none of thy kindred, that there is none of thy kindred that is called by this name. And they made signs to his father how he could have him called. And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marvelled all. And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loose. And he spake and praised God, and fear came upon all that dwelt round about him. And all these sayings were noised about throughout all the hill country of Judea. And all they that heard him laid them up in their ears, saying, What manner of child shall this be? And the hand of the Lord was with him. And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel! For he hath visited and redeemed his people, and hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David. As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began, that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all that hate us. To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant, the oath which he sware to our father Abraham, that he would grant unto us that which being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, and holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life. And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of Ahias, for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the redemption of their sins, through the tender mercy of our God, whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. And the child grew and lacked strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his showing unto Israel. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we're thankful to be gathered today in your household. I pray that you will pass the policy of your spirit, Lord. Help us to gain understanding, gain wisdom from the preaching of your word. I pray that you help us to do distractions to the minimum. And we pray it. Amen. Amen. All right, we are in Luke chapter number one and let's read verse number 26. The Bible says, And in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee named Nazareth. Now, just to give you some context of where we're at in this story, of course, there is a man named Zacharias and his wife, Elizabeth, who they had been barren most of their life and God allowed Elizabeth to conceive in their old age. Gabriel goes and visits them and tells them that they're going to have a child. And because Zacharias kind of answered back with a little bit of doubt, the angel caused him to be dumb, meaning that he could not speak basically until the day those things were performed. So when we're here in verse number 26, when it says, And in the sixth month, it's talking about the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy. So she's pretty far along in her pregnancy. We're in the sixth month. And during that sixth month, it says the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee named Nazareth. And then shortly, we're going to be introduced to the story of basically the virgin birth, which is what's referred to as the virgin birth. And though it's not Christmas today, it's not Christmas this week, it is something that is just on my heart a lot lately because it's the Christmas season. And so I want to preach a sermon this morning called The Virgin Birth, The Virgin Birth. This is a very important doctrine and also a very just amazing story when we read it. It's really powerful truths and I just I find myself thinking about this this time of year. I want to give you a couple thoughts this morning regarding to this story. And number one, Mary was blessed by God. Mary was blessed by God. Look at verse 26 again. It says, And in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee named Nazareth to a virgin, espoused to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David and the virgin's name was Mary. So here, you know, we're introduced to the character Mary and the Bible tells us that she was espoused to her husband Joseph. And basically it's just saying that they were engaged. But the Bible seems to indicate that the espousal back then was like a higher level of engagement than we have today in our society. Because even if someone was just engaged or espoused at this time, they would have to literally have a bill of divorcement to end that engagement. So this was a higher level of engagement than we have. She was espoused to her husband, but they had not yet consummated the marriage because the Bible says that she is a virgin. And, you know, being that especially this culture this time, if she was espoused to her husband, but she had not yet consummated the marriage, I'm guessing that she's probably a teenager. That's probably the age that I think that Mary was probably 17, 18, something around there. That's probably the age that Mary was around this time. Verse 28 says, And what I want you to notice from this verse is that the angel comes and tells her, hey, you are highly favored, you are blessed. But notice what the angel does not say. The angel does not say, hey, Mary, you are a blessing, right? Because Mary is the recipient of blessing in this story. Because many people today, the Catholic Church, they look at Mary and when they look at the story of the birth of Jesus Christ or the conception of a virgin by the Holy Ghost, and they don't look at the story through the lens of glorifying God or glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ. They look at the story through the lens of glorifying Mary, which is idolatry, okay? Because the angel comes to her and says, hey, you are highly favored, you are blessed. It's not that Mary is the blessing, all right? Look at verse number 29. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying. Now, usually whenever anyone has an interaction with an angel in the Bible, they're troubled. They're scared because angels don't really look like what you see in the Hallmark movies or cards or something like that. I mean, you read Ezekiel chapter 1, they look pretty terrifying. Now, I don't know exactly how Gabriel would have looked in this situation, but the saying troubled her, all right? She was kind of scared, she was kind of thinking about these things in her heart. And it says, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. You know, Mary's just a humble, godly teenager, and all of a sudden Gabriel, one of the biggest angels as far as just reputation and power and might, all of a sudden Gabriel is just going to this little girl, basically, and just saying, hail, thou that art highly favored, and basically saying that she is blessed by God. That's got to take her back a little bit. I mean, wouldn't you be taken aback? No matter who you are in this room, if an angel came to you and addressed you like that, you'd be kind of shocked, right? And here's this humble girl in a small town, all of a sudden getting the angel coming to her and saying that. She's kind of casting in her mind and thinking about, okay, why did this guy just greet me like this? This is strange. This doesn't make sense. Verse 30, and the angel said unto her, fear not, because she's scared, Mary, for thou hast found favor with God. You know, here's the truth about Mary. Mary was a great godly woman. Mary is a great example to look up to as a woman that was humble and full of faith and just a good person. But unfortunately today, we kind of have to preach about the dangers of going too far with that because so many people do engage in what's known as Mariolatry, just idolatry of Mary. Now, I want to read this excerpt I found from, this is the Second Vatican Council. The dramatic constitution of the Church. So this is an official document of the Catholic Church from a meeting that took place in 1964, where they clarify their doctrine regarding Mary. This is what they said. This motherhood of Mary, in the order of grace, continues uninterruptedly from the consent which she loyally gave at the Annunciation and which she sustained without wavering beneath the cross until the eternal fulfillment of all the elect. Taken up to heaven, she did not lay aside this saving office, but by her manifold intercession continues to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation. That is the official doctrine of the Catholic Church, that Mary holds to this day a saving office, that she did not lay aside, she continues to bring the gifts of eternal salvation. Let me tell you what that is, that's blasphemous is what that is, that's idolatry. Don't let Catholics fool you and say, oh, we don't worship Mary, we just adore Mary. We just venerate Mary. It's like, no, your doctrine says that Mary brings salvation, that she has a saving office. It says by her maternal charity, she cares for the brethren of her son who still journey on earth, surrounded by dangers and difficulties until they are led into their blessed home. So, you know, according to them, Mary's up in heaven and she's caring about all of us down on earth who are struggling through life and going through trials and difficulties, which is why Catholics literally pray to Mary to help them get through their struggles and dangers in life. Oh, but you don't worship Mary, you just pray to her, though. You just kneel before statues of her, but you don't worship Mary, sure. Therefore, the Blessed Virgin is invoked in the church under the titles of advocate, helper, benefactress, and mediatrix. So the Bible litera- or not the Bible, good night. This stupid document literally teaches that she is a mediator or a mediatrix that stands between you and God. Mary is the mediator according to official Catholic doctrine. But they clarify, they say, this, however, is so understood that it neither takes away anything nor adds anything to the dignity and efficacy of Christ, the one mediator. It's like, whoa, whoa, you can't say Christ is the one mediator. You just told us that Mary's a mediatrix. I mean, why would you have to make that stupid clarification? It's because you were just downgrading Christ. You were just lowering him and exalting his human mother, saying that she has an office of salvation, that she's bringing forth the gifts of salvation, that she is the mediatrix between us and God. Oh, but we don't want to take anything away from Christ. It's like, yes, you do. Your doctrine absolutely takes away from Christ, and this is a blasphemous doctrine. There's a lot of well-meaning people that are just ignorant, but look, it is blasphemous to pray to Mary. It's blasphemous to have idols of her or anything like that. Go to Matthew chapter 12, if you would, Matthew chapter 12. 1 Timothy 2, 5 says, For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. Yes, this doctrine does take away from the glory of Jesus Christ, because the Bible says there's one mediator. That is the Son of God. He is the one that mediates between us and the Father. But here I want to show you in Matthew 12 that even Jesus himself, who carnally was the son of Mary, downplayed the significance of Mary. Even Jesus downplayed her significance. Look at Matthew 12, 46. The Bible says, While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without desiring to speak with him. So that's talking about Mary. Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without desiring to speak with thee. Now, I don't know about you and me. You know, if my mother is wanting to get my attention, I'm probably going to stop what I'm doing and give her my attention, right? Because she's my mom. But notice Jesus's attitude is different, and I think God did this for a reason. Verse 48 says, But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? Who are my brethren? Now, that's not something that we would really say, right? But that's because we're not God in the flesh. Here's the truth. Jesus Christ is the creator of Mary. Jesus Christ is the one who created all things. By him were all things made, and without him was not anything made that was made, the Bible says. So he's way above Mary, and I'm sure he was respectful to his mom, and we know that he did obey his parents. We know that Jesus never sinned, but Jesus is not going to sit here and just cater to the needs of his mother because Jesus is higher than his mother. Jesus is the God of Mary. Mary is not the mediator. Jesus is the mediator. Verse 49, And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples and said, Behold, my mother and my brethren. He's saying, Hey, who takes priority are the disciples of me. And if my mom wants my attention, you know what she should be doing? She should be here listening to what I'm saying. Because when Jesus is speaking, that's more important than what Mary wants. Now, Catholics would be shocked and horrified to know that Jesus actually said, Hey, who even is Mary? That's literally what he said. Who is my mom? Hey, you know who I care about? The people listening to my preaching. Now, that would sound prideful coming from us, right? But he's God. He's the one that made Mary and all these people. Verse 50, And whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother and sister and mother. He's saying, Look, my physical mom, Mary, is not on some sort of special high playing field where she has all this adoration and veneration given to her. He's saying, Anyone could be my mom. Any lady that serves God and wants to be a disciple, she's the same as Mary, is what he's saying. And he's not saying that Mary's bad. The Bible doesn't paint Mary as being bad, but good night. Why are you worshipping Mary when this was the attitude that Jesus had? It does not make any sense. Go to Deuteronomy chapter 27, because here's the thing. It's a shame when God gives us stories like this in the Bible. God gives us the Christmas story. And, you know, in the United States, it's very common to celebrate Christmas as a holiday. But here's the thing. God didn't give us all of these things so that we could take this time of year to just worship his mother, to just worship Mary. The point of the story of the virgin birth, the point of the story of the nativity in the manger is to get us to glorify and worship God. Is to get us to see, wow, what a great God that would humble himself, that who was rich in heaven would come down to this earth as a little baby. That had to be taken care of, that had to be breastfed, that had to have his diapers changed so that he could live a life to where he could suffer for us and die for us and we could be saved through faith in him. That's what we should be thinking about, not like, wow, Mary's so great. Yeah, Mary is great, but she's nothing in comparison to her son, Jesus Christ. Now look at verse 15 of Deuteronomy 27. The Bible says, The Bible teaches that if you make an idol, you are cursed of God. The Bible says that that idol is an abomination to God. And yet all over our city and all over this country, you'll have Catholic churches and sadly even people that aren't Catholics put out a nativity scene of idols of Mary, idols of the shepherds, idols of Jesus Christ when God says the people that make those things, they're cursed of God. People that bow down to those things are an abomination unto God. You know, someone needs to lovingly wake up the Catholic today and say, hey, I know you mean well. I know you're just trying to do what you think is right, but God is not pleased with your Mary statue. God doesn't like your nativity scene. It's an abomination to him. And look, there's nothing wrong with a Christmas tree. There's nothing wrong with lights, but we're never going to have a nativity scene in this church because it is idolatry. And any image of Jesus Christ or of his mother is blasphemous to God. Go back to Luke chapter one, Luke chapter number one. So, you know, we have to say all that to get us in the right mindset because so many people do worship Mary. But on the other side, because we know that that's too far, we're not in here as Baptists worshiping Mary. You know, it's safe to say in here that it is true that Mary was highly favored with God and that Mary was a great lady. And, you know, Mary kind of gets a bad rep and it's probably annoying that so many times we have to like say all this negative stuff regarding her. But it's just to balance out the false doctrine. But the truth is Mary was blessed by God. Mary was a great person and Mary was special in a way. Now, why though? Well, look at verse 38. It says this. And Mary said, notice what she says. This is so important. Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her. Why was Mary special? Why was Mary someone that was used greatly by God and who was blessed by God? Because Mary was the type of person that just said to the Lord, hey, behold the handmaid of the Lord. Be it unto me according to thy word. Whatever your will is, God, whatever it is you want me to go through, I'm willing to go through it. And, you know, she probably didn't fully understand everything that was going to happen at this point. But, I mean, think about a teenage girl getting pregnant and carrying a child and everyone around you probably thinks a certain way about you. And, I mean, you can't really blame them because it's the only time in human history that this happened and the only time it ever will happen. So, you know, no one's going to fool me if you claim this in the future, okay? But, look, that had to have been kind of, you know, bearing shame. People probably mocked at her. People probably called her a whore. People called her bad names and none of it was true. She was a godly woman. She was a woman that was submitting to God. She just said, hey, Lord, I'm here. Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Whatever it is your word wants me to do, I will do it. Go to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. 1 Thessalonians 4 verse 3 says, For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication, that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor, not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God, that no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter, because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. You know, why is it that of all the ladies that God could have chosen, why did he choose Mary to carry the Lord Jesus Christ in her womb? One reason is because she was just humble. She was just ready to serve God. You know, be it unto me according to thy word, but also Mary was a clean vessel. Mary was someone that had sanctified herself, that had separated herself from the sins of this world. Of course, she wasn't sinless, but the Bible talks about how we should know we should keep our bodies in sanctification and honor, and how do we do that? By abstaining from fornication. And the fact that she was a virgin obviously proves that she had done this. And look, it can't be stressed enough in 2024 America to young people how important it is to God that you abstain from fornication. Because the truth is that God can use people with a sordid past. God can use people that have all sorts of problems in their past, but you know what? He was only going to use one woman to carry the Lord Jesus Christ, and that was the virgin. He's not going to use the woman that was loose. He's not going to use the woman that had committed fornication or adultery, anything like that. No, this person had to be a virgin. This had to be someone who had possessed their vessel in sanctification and in honor, and that's one of the reasons why Mary was blessed, why she was special. Go to 2 Timothy chapter 2, 2 Timothy 2. And you know, we have to understand this principle that it is true that no matter what you have done, if you're saved, God does want to use you. You know, you should not get discouraged or down or feel like quitting on serving God because you have some sort of bad past. You know, you look at guys like the apostle Paul who he talks about how he used to be a persecutor of the church and injurious and he did all these bad things, but basically he did it ignorantly and unbelief and God showed mercy to him as an example to us that come after seeing like, hey look, a guy like Paul, God had mercy on him, God used him greatly, God can use us too. And we should always keep that same mentality and not every time we sin, every time we mess up, just say like, well I'm too dirty, I'm too sinful, I can't be used by God. But on the other hand though, what you have to realize is that the cleaner you are, the more sanctified you are, the more that God can use you. The more great works you can do for him. See look, everyone could be a soul winner, right? That's something that everyone could do. It doesn't matter what's in your past. You should be a soul winner. That's God's will for you. But there's other things in the Bible, for example, like being a deacon or being a pastor. These things have qualifications where if you have messed up in that area, that's off the table for you. And it's like God's looking down from heaven saying, okay, here's the qualifications for a young lady to carry the Lord Jesus Christ. She's got to be a virgin. I'm sure there was other saved girls in Israel at that time that, you know, they loved God, they had made some mistakes in their past, and God could still use those ladies for other things, but you know what he can't use them for? They can't be the virgin that carries Jesus Christ. And so God is more likely to use a clean vessel. Look at 2 Timothy chapter 2 verse 20. The Bible says, But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth, and some to honor and some to dishonor. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and notice, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work. And then it's going to explain how do we do that? How do we get sanctified? How do we purge ourselves from these? Flee also youthful lusts. What's that? Fornication. What's that? Drunkenness. What's that? Drugs. Youthful lusts. But follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. How can you be used the most by God? What is your highest potential as a Christian in life? It's when you purge yourself from these things. See, God can use you no matter what, but to reach your highest potential spiritually, you have to purge yourself from your sins. We're not talking about sinless perfection. We're not talking about earning our way to heaven. But we are talking about saying, I already am saved, and I need to get the sin out of my life. I need to repent of drunkenness. I need to repent of fornication. Or better yet, I need to never go down that road to begin with. I know what's right. I know what the Bible says. I've heard the preaching. You know what? I'm just deciding I'm not going to do it. And you know, this is a decision that young people need to have settled in their heart before they start dating. You know, don't wait till you start falling in love with a girl and you start hanging out with a girl, guys, to think, huh, I wonder if I'm going to commit fornication or not. It's like, you better have just settled that way before and make not provision for the lusts of the flesh and have people help you and have chaperones and have safeguards in your life. Rather than just like, well, I'll think about it when the time comes. No, you're going to be thinking about one thing and it's the wrong decision. You have to settle that in your heart way before you ever go down that road. You see, I don't just have alcohol in my house so that I could just wake up and say, I wonder if I'll just feel like drinking someday or if I just don't feel like drinking someday. I'm not even going to have that temptation in my house ever. And so I don't have to wait on my flesh if it's strong that day or if my spirit's strong. It's just, no, we're not going to make provision for the flesh. Okay. And so we need to be constantly purging ourselves, making ourselves a vessel into honor, because that's the way we're going to be used greatly by God. Go to John chapter four. Now, here's the thing, though. Like I mentioned, you can still be used by God if you've done bad things in the past, if you have major sins. And I want to show you some examples of people, specifically women, that God has used greatly who did have sordid pasts. One is the woman at the well in John chapter four. Let's start reading verse 15. The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw. Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither. The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband, for thou hast had five husbands. Ooh, he's calling her out, right? And he whom thou now hast is not thy husband, in that sets thou truly. That would be embarrassing for her, right? Oh, I don't have a husband. Oh, yeah, you're right, because you've had five. The dude that you're with right now isn't even your husband. I mean, imagine Jesus calling you out on that. That had to have been pretty shameful. I mean, this is not the Virgin Mary right here, okay? This is not someone who had been living a sanctified life, pleasing to God. This person is in serious sin. I mean, this person is just shacked up with some random dude and has had five husbands. I mean, this is like the woman Donald Trump or something. Just like dude after dude after dude. She is not living a godly life. And her response is hilarious. The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. She kind of just takes it, right? She doesn't even really, you know, get mad. Oh, how dare you call that to me? She's like, wow, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Verse 28, the woman then left her water pot and notice what she did. It went her way into the city and saith to the men, Come see a man which told me all things that ever I did is not this the Christ. Now that's the right response when you get called out for your sin. That's the right response when you've been living in the pig pen. You've been messing up. You've been living a wicked life and you know what? God calls it out through his word or in this case Jesus Christ calls it out to your face. You know what she does? She doesn't sulk and say, I'm worthless. I can't be used by God. I'm just going to quit. You know what she does? She just immediately starts preaching the gospel. And you know, I've heard pastors teach that, you know, you shouldn't go soul winning in your life. You should like clean up your life first before you get back out soul winning. Is that really what she was doing? I mean, she's actively living with another dude. And what does she start doing? She starts preaching the gospel and people get saved. People end up believing on Christ. And look, it does not matter how sinful your life is. You should always preach the gospel. It doesn't matter if you're in jail as a result of your sins. Preach the gospel in jail. It doesn't matter if you're in the pig pen of life because you're suffering so bad from the consequences of your sin. Preach the gospel. God always wants you to preach the gospel. Go to Mark 16. Let's look at another lady with a rough past that Jesus used. Mark chapter 16 verse 9 says, Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, notice, out of whom he had cast seven devils. And she went and told them that had been with him as they mourned and wept. This lady had had seven demons possessing her in times past in her life. And the Bible doesn't tell us exactly why, but I mean you just read the Old Testament and you just see people in life. Usually it's people that are messing around with witchcraft. Usually it's people messing around with necromancy and all this sort of pagan occultish stuff. That's likely what her background was. She had seven devils cast out of her and notice that she was the first one to come where the Lord Jesus Christ had risen. Go back to Luke chapter 1 and I'll read for you Hebrews 11 31 says, By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace. We see another great lady that God used. Rahab who? The harlot. And even in the hall of faith in Hebrews 11, the Bible still refers to her as the harlot. I mean she did not get to live that down. She's eternally recorded in Hebrews 11 as Rahab the harlot. Yet God still used her right? She's still in the hall of faith. It's not like God doesn't love you if you've messed up greatly in your life. It's not like God's not ready to forgive you and use you. But here's the thing though God can use people with a bad past. There's only one type of person that God can use to carry the Lord Jesus Christ and it's a virgin. That's why Mary was chosen is because she was sanctified. She was living a godly life. She was a virgin. You know that should make us think like hey I don't want God to just constantly just be giving me tons of grace so that I could just do the least amount of possible. I want to do the greatest I possibly can for him. I want to reach whatever my greatest potential is. Whatever that looks like for you. How are you going to reach that? It's going to be by living a sanctified life. Now Luke chapter 1, number 2 this evening or this morning, let's talk about the prophecy of Jesus' birth. Luke 1 verse 30. An angel said unto her fear not Mary for thou hast found favor with God. Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb and bring forth a son and shalt call his name Jesus. Verse 32. He shall be great. Amen to that. I mean he shall be great. That's an understatement right there. And shall be called the son of the highest and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever and of his kingdom there shall be no end. That has to be quite a surreal birth announcement for a young lady. And you know let's think about it. Usually ladies are really excited when they get pregnant right? Especially they're first, they're excited, they're ready, they're happy to have this child. But imagine Mary's first child announcement. Hey Mary, you're not just having a child. That would be cool enough. That would be exciting enough. No Mary, you're going to have a child that's going to be called the son of the highest. You're going to have a child that says and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever and of his kingdom there shall be no end. You know here's the amazing thing about the birth announcement to Mary is that Mary wasn't just being told, hey Mary I'm an angel from God I just want to let you know that you're having a child. There's people in the Bible that have had that happen to them. They were excited, they were happy. Hannah wrote a song about it and sang right? But the angel's coming to Mary and you know the angel's telling Mary, hey Mary just so you know who's going to be in your womb is the son of God. Is God almighty. That is who you're about to give birth to. Wow that has to be surreal. Could you imagine being a teenage girl who had never known a man, a virgin and all of a sudden just the angel's coming to you telling you, oh this is who you're giving birth to it's going to be Jesus Christ. Now go to John chapter 5 and of course this is the one of the most foundational doctrines of Christianity is that Jesus is the son of God. Jesus is the son of God. Now the Muslims they deny this. They don't believe Jesus is the son of God they think he was just a good prophet. And what I'm going to show you is that when the Bible says that Jesus is the son of God what that means is that he is God. And so that is who Mary is going to give birth to. Is God in the flesh. Talk about surreal. John 5 verse 16. And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus and sought to slay him because he had done these things on the Sabbath day. But Jesus answered them, my father worketh hitherto and I work. Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him notice because he had not only broken the Sabbath but said also that God was his father making himself equal with God. See when Jesus said that he was the son of God when people called him the son of God and he accepted that the Jews rightly understood what he meant by that. He wasn't just saying how we would think of a son and a father where yeah there's similarities between them. But there's obviously a massive difference and I am not my children my children are not me right. But the Jews understood that when Jesus was saying that he was the son of God he was making himself equal with God. And they viewed that as blasphemy but it's not blasphemy because it's true because he is God. Go to John 10. John chapter number 10. John 10 verse 27 says my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me and I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My father which gave them me is greater than all and no man is able to pluck them out of my father's hand. I and my father are one. Notice 31. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them many good works have I showed you for my father for which of those do you stone me. The Jews answered him saying for a good work we stone thee not but for blasphemy and because that thou being a man makest thyself God. And so look sometimes out soul winning Muslims will try to tell you well Jesus never claimed to be God. Well it seems like no one around him in his life got that memo because all the Jews were constantly wanting to kill him because he made himself God. Because him being the son of God means that he is God. Verse 34. Jesus answered them is it not written in your law I said ye are gods referring to rulers. If he called them gods unto whom the word of God came and the scripture cannot be broken. Say ye of him whom the father hath sanctified and sent into the world thou blasphemest because I said I am the son of God. See Jesus said that he was the son of God. Verse 37. If I do not the works of my father believe me not but if I do though you believe not me believe the works that you may know and believe that the father is in me. And I in him. You could just look at the things that Jesus was producing in his ministry. You could look at the works that he was doing and just realize that hey no man can do this power except he was God. No one can just raise the dead without the power of God. No one can be walking on water without the power of God. He was doing the works of his father because he's the son of God which means that he is God. Go to John 8 58 flip back to John 8 58 I'll read for you Hebrews 1 8 says but unto the son he saith thy throne O God is forever and ever. Even God the father said to the son called him God. God the father called Jesus Christ God. He said thy throne O God is forever and ever. John 8 58 says this Jesus said unto them verily verily I say unto you before Abraham was I am. See Jesus was not a created being. Jesus was not some spiritual created being like the Mormons teach or the cults teach. Jesus has eternally existed as the son of God. Which means that the father has eternally existed. They've eternally had that relationship. There's three persons in the Trinity. One God. Jesus Christ is just a man just a good prophet just a good teacher who taught some good morals. No, he is God. And how do we know that one reason why it says the heat but that before Abraham was I am and that's kind of an amazing thought to think about that. Here's this baby that's going to be conceived in Mary's womb a baby, right? But yet that baby Jesus Christ existed before Abraham existed way before Mary existed before Joseph before anyone. He is the great I am he has eternally existed. And so this is no small thing that's happening to Mary. I mean, could you imagine just how surreal of a situation it was for Mary to know that she's carrying the son of God, you know that song Mary did you know? Yes, she knew. In fact, there was an angel that came and told her everything. That's the whole point. Yes, Mary knew. Go back to Luke 1. I'll read for you. Hebrews 2 9 says but we see Jesus who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. You know the story of the angel Gabriel coming to Mary telling her she's highly favored telling her she's blessed telling her that she's going to be carrying the son of God. This story wasn't given to us for us to glorify Mary or to think that Mary so great. It was to appreciate Jesus Christ that though he was he was clothed with honor and majesty that he made himself a little lower than the angels meaning he became a human being. He humbled himself to become a baby so that he could suffer and die for us. That is the beauty of the Christmas story. That is the beauty of the virgin birth. Number three Mary's conception by the Holy Ghost Mary's conception by the Holy Ghost look at verse 34. It says then Mary said unto the angel. How shall this be seeing I know not a man that's a pretty good question. What are you talking about? How is this possible? I'm a virgin right and here's the truth. It's not possible. It's a miracle verse 35 and the angel answered and said unto her the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee and the power of the highest shall overshadow thee. Therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the son of God. How is it that he is the son of God because he was conceived by God. He was not conceived by a man the Holy Ghost overshadowed Mary the power of the highest overshadowed her the Holy Ghost came upon her and that is how Jesus Christ was conceived. You say pastor Oz. How does that work physically? I have no idea. How does it work physically? I don't know because it's a miracle. Oh, that's not possible. You're right. It's not possible, but it happens and I believe that it happened that a virgin conceived the Lord Jesus Christ. Now. This is a very important doctrine go to if you would Romans 5. I'm going to read a couple verses why you turn there. Ecclesiastes 11 5 says as thou knowest not what is the way of the Spirit. We're just talking about the Holy Spirit, right? Nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all here's the truth. I don't know how that happened. You don't know how that happened in the Bible is literally telling us. We don't know how that happened and you know, it's just one of those things in the Bible that just requires faith and without faith. It is impossible to please him. The Bible says I'm glad that there's some things in the Bible because here's the thing. The Bible is a very logical book. The Bible matches science and it matches reality, but I'm glad that there are some things in the Bible that just 100% require faith. They're called miracles and I believe that the miracles in the Bible are true. I believe that the Red Sea parted with Moses and that they walk through on dry ground. You know, I believe that Lazarus Lazarus was really dead that he was out right. He was flatlined and that Jesus Christ brought him back from the dead. I believe that and I believe that a virgin never knew a man that she was pure yet. She conceived Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Ghost. I believe that happened now. There's a lot of preachers. I wouldn't say a lot, but there are some Christian preachers that deny the validity of the virgin birth. One of them is everybody's favorite guy, Martin Luther King, a guy that our country literally celebrates a whole holiday for, Martin Luther King. This is what he said in 1949. He said this, first we must admit that the evidence for the tenability of this doctrine, referring to the virgin birth, is too shallow to convince any objective thinker. He's just saying, no, there's no evidence for this. It's too shallow to convince anyone. It's like, is the Bible too shallow for you? I mean, that's what you're saying. The evidence of the Bible story that we just read is not enough to convince Martin Luther King. Why? Because this guy was a false prophet. Martin Luther King is burning in hell right now. You better believe I don't celebrate that stupid holiday. Why? Because it has nothing to do with race or black people because the Bible says that God made all nations of the earth of one blood. We're past that. We don't care about that at this church. But I do care about someone who's a false prophet that's lifted up and loved by the world. And I'm not going to love Martin Luther King. He's in hell. Another guy, John Shelby Spong, an Episcopal theologian, said this, the virgin birth tradition of the New Testament is grounded in a misunderstanding of a single verse in the book of Isaiah. So never mind all the stuff that we're reading in Luke and all the other places. We go to Matthew chapter one. We can look at other places in the New Testament that teach this doctrine. He says that the conception of the virgin birth is based on a misconception of just one verse in Isaiah. And what he's talking about is Isaiah 7 14 where it says, Therefore, the Lord himself shall give you a sign. All right. Here's the really confusing language. Behold, a virgin shall conceive. I mean, that seems really clear. A virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Emmanuel. I mean, how is that unclear? How can how can there be a misconception? Oh, a single verse in Isaiah. The Bible literally says God's going to give us a sign that a virgin will conceive. I mean, it's just stupid. But, you know, this is another thing, too, is that the Old Testament absolutely did prophesy of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Old Testament talked tons about Jesus's birth, tons about him suffering and dying. This is another reason why I just that song Mary, did you know, just kind of annoys me so much because it because it kind of takes away from I think the fact that she did know, because here's the thing. Imagine imagine Mary. She's carrying the Lord Jesus Jesus Christ. She's carrying the son of God. Imagine Mary opening up her Bible and reading Isaiah Chapter seven. I mean, she had access to Isaiah. We know that people in the New Testament could read Isaiah. Think about the beauty of Mary reading this. Therefore, the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Immanuel. I mean, she read that verse and knew that it was being fulfilled in her life. That's amazing. But you know what else is just incredible about the faith of Mary is that that also means that she read the parts of Isaiah where talks about he was bruised for our iniquities by his stripes. Are we healed? How he was hated, despised of men and the horrible suffering and death that he was going to experience. Did Mary know? Absolutely. She knew. And, you know, we hear the story of of Simeon coming up to Mary and holding the baby, the Lord Jesus Christ and saying like, hey, I'm basically ready to go to heaven. Now my life is fulfilled. I've I've held the Lord Jesus Christ. But what does she tell Mary that a sword will pierce through her own soul also? Because Mary had to conceive this child that she loved raised this child that she loved as her own because it is her own. But she knew that she was going to be giving that child to suffer and die for the world. And that is incredible thought because I don't about you. I'm not willing to give up my kids anytime soon to a cross. Right. But yet she lived her whole life knowing that that was the mission that she had to fulfill. That is a steadfast woman right there. That is a woman of great faith. You know, I think it's beautiful that, yes, Mary did know. She did know that a virgin would conceive. And she's she's looking around. Any other virgins conceiving around here? No, it's me. This verse is about me. She knew. Romans Chapter five. Now, why is it so important to believe in the virgin birth? This is why is because that by virtue of the virgin birth, Jesus Christ did not inherit a sin nature. All of us have a sin nature. But you know who did not have a sin nature? The only person who's ever had no sin nature is the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at Romans five twelve. It says, Wherefore is by one man sin entered into the world and death by sin. And so death passed upon all men for that all have sin. Notice how the Bible highlights how sin came into the world. It doesn't say by Eve, though, she was the one that first ate of the tree. The Bible highlights the fact that through one man, sin entered into the world. And so we can gather from that, that it's very likely and I believe one hundred. This is my one hundred percent conviction. I believe that the sin nature is passed on through the man. You know why? Because there's only been one person who's ever lived on this earth who did not have a physical father, Jesus Christ. And guess what? He had no sin nature. He never sinned. Second Corinthians five twenty one says, For he hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. So, you know, Jesus Christ, he didn't take on the nature of a physical father like all of us do. You know what he did? He took on the nature of his real father, God in heaven, and that is a sinless nature. Go to John fourteen, John chapter fourteen. See, Jesus took on the nature of his father. John fourteen verse six. Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my father also, and from henceforth you know him and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me? Philip, he that hath seen me hath seen the father, and how sayest thou then, Show us the father. Believest thou not that I am in the father, and the father in me? The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself, but the father that dwelleth in me. He doeth the works. See, what Jesus is teaching here, he's not teaching this weird modalism, heresy, that he literally is the father. There's a weird teaching out there that says Jesus is the father, the father is Jesus, the father is the Holy Ghost, the Holy Ghost is the father. That basically there's just one person in the Trinity that just puts on different hats. That's a false doctrine. But what is true is that all the words that Jesus spake were given to him of the father. What is true is that all the works that he did, he constantly does those things that please him. He does the works of the father. And what also is true is that Jesus Christ looks exactly like the father. He is the exact image of his person, the Bible says. So if you've seen Jesus, in essence, you've seen the father. Why? Because it's the same words, it's the same works, it's the same visual appearance. If you've seen Jesus, you've seen the father. Now, he's saying that in essence. He's not saying that literally. Because if you see the face of God the father, the Bible says you can't live, you will die. You can't look into God the father's face as a human being and live, but you know you can look into Jesus Christ's face. Lots of people saw Jesus, right? So he's the image of God the father. He is not the father though. But you know, I personally, every time I go soul winning, I always at least mention the virgin birth. I always at least mention the fact that Jesus Christ was born of a virgin. Why? Because it's one of the reasons that we know that he was sinless. And it's one of the reasons that we know that he is God in the flesh. Jesus, 100% man. How? Because he was born of Mary. 100% God. How? Because he was conceived of the Holy Ghost. That's how he had that dual nature that no one else has ever had. And that's why it's such an amazing miracle in the Bible because there's nothing, there's never been anything like that before or since. It only happened once, it'll only happen one time. It's a beautiful story. Number three, let's talk about the joy of the virgin birth, the joy of the virgin birth. I don't know about you, I just, I'm happy that it's Christmas time. I'm happy to hear the beautiful songs, to be reading these passages. Because let's be honest, we don't really talk about these passages throughout the year. Maybe we need to talk about it more. It seems like we only talk about these passages around Christmas, but these stories are beautiful. These stories bring us joy. Verse 35, And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the highest shall overshadow thee. Therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And behold thy cousin Elizabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible. That brings me joy. Verse 38, Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be done to me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her. And Mary rose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Judah, and entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elizabeth. And it came to pass, when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost. I mean, just being in proximity to the little baby Jesus Christ with Mary, the babe in Elizabeth's womb leaped. And look, this is the author, this is the narrator of the Bible telling us this. This isn't like, you know, Elizabeth's just thinking something's happening. Like, the Bible says that this baby leaped in her womb. Why? Because this is a joyous announcement. This is an exciting announcement. Verse 43, 42, And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? Notice Elizabeth had the right perspective about Mary. It's not that Mary, oh, how is it that the mediatrix between God and man can come to me? How is it that this person that holds a great office of salvation could come unto me? No, she says, How is it that the mother of my Lord should come unto me? See, even the Old Testament, which this is still Old Testament that we're reading right now, because the New Testament started with the death of Christ. Here we are in the Old Testament, and Elizabeth, who was godly, Elizabeth, who knew the Bible, knew that this was God in the flesh in Mary's womb. That this was the Son of God who was going to save her from her sins, her husband Zacharias, Mary, yea the whole world. Whence is it to me that the mother of my Lord should come unto me? Verse 44, For lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, notice, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. And blessed is she that believed, for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord. And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior. Her soul is magnifying her son Jesus Christ. She is rejoicing in her son Jesus Christ, who is God her Savior. I mean, her own son is her Savior. And the Bible says how the babe leaped in the womb for joy. You know, Christmas is something to be joyful about. You know, thank God we actually have something to be joyful about. You know what's funny is all over, you go to any store, you go to any workplace in this country, in this city, and you just hear Christmas music, you hear songs about the birth of Christ. Even the worldly musicians who don't even love God will just make Christmas albums and start singing hymns. You know what's funny is I don't go anywhere and I don't hear songs about Mohammed's birth. Well, I don't walk into a department store and say, no, we don't hear that crap here, thank God. Because there's nothing joyful about Mohammed's birth. There's nothing joyful about, yay, Mohammed's born, who's going to grow up and sleep with a child and be a pedophile and be an illiterate moron that takes millions of people to hell. Yay! No, no one's happy about that. No one's happy about Buddha. No one's happy about Hinduism. You know what we're happy about is God in the flesh being born. God Almighty God coming as a baby, hey, I'm excited about that. I'm happy about that. You know, my spirit rejoices that God would love us so much that he would come down to humble himself as a child to die for our sins. I'm excited about that. You know what? The world's been excited about it every year for 2,024 years. 2,024 years! We've been singing praises about the birth of Jesus Christ, we've been celebrating his coming to this earth, and guess what? We'll be doing it for all of eternity. Everyone's going to forget about Mohammed. Everyone's going to forget about all the false religions, but this little baby that came into this world changed the world forever. The most influential man who's ever lived, Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I love this song. It says, there's a tumult of joy over the wonderful birth, for the virgin's sweet boy is the Lord of the earth. That is beautiful words right there. Now let's look why she rejoiced. Verse 48. Why was she rejoicing over this? The Bible says, for he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden, for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. You know, why is it that Mary rejoiced? Because God looked at a lowly, humble, what people would consider unimportant, nobody teenage girl, but you know what? God regarded her low estate. God, who knows everything, who knows the hairs on every human being's head, cared about this one specific teenage girl in a small town, and regarded her low estate. And here's a reason for joy for us, is that God has regarded all of our estate as well. And that God has commended his love toward us, in that he's given us his son Jesus Christ, in that he's given us his child to die for our sins, and he's regarded our low estate as well. Verse 49. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things, and holy is his name. You know, the name of Jesus Christ is a holy name. It's a separated, special name. You know, we shouldn't be going around using Jesus' name as a cuss word when we stub our toe. No, this is the Son of God. This is a holy name. And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. But he still today, the mercy of God is upon us. His mercy is upon us today. He hath showed strength with his arm. He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. See, unfortunately, the prideful people of this world, they get to miss out on this joy of Christmas. They get to miss out on this mercy that God has available to them. Why? Because, you know, the story of the gospel isn't that this precious baby came to be born into this world and lived a perfectly sinless life and died for all of our sins and went to hell and rose again from the dead so that you could live a perfect life and repent of all your sins and work your way to heaven. That's not why Jesus came. That's not why he was born in the manger. The reason he came is so that he can come save the humble that say, hey, that little baby that was born, that's my Savior. That baby that was born grew up and never sinned and died for my sins. And the only way I could receive his mercy and his grace and salvation is by trusting in his death, burial and resurrection. The proud miss that God has scattered the proud through the imaginations of their heart, the ones that think I have to help Jesus out. Jesus wasn't sufficient. You see, Jesus didn't do enough works to get me to heaven. His death wasn't sufficient for me. I also have to give God my filthy rags. I'll give God my filthy rags of going to church once a month. Oh, I'll give God my filthy rags of reading the Christmas story once a year in December. Oh, I'll give God my filthy rags of feeding a homeless person, which isn't even a good thing to do anyways. Yet I can't tell you how many times I've heard people answer that they're going to heaven because they feed the homeless. No, those are filthy rags. You know what God wants you to do? He wants you to accept the grace of his son, Jesus Christ. He wants you to accept the free gift of salvation by believing that he was sufficient for your salvation. Verse 52, he hath put down the mighty from their seats and exalted them of low degree. I just love the symbolism of Christianity, how this humble baby born in a manger, this little child who physically is weak and defenseless and needs his mother and needs all these physical things, how he himself is the one that put down the mighty from their seats and he's the one that's exalted them of low degree. He's the one that has filled the hungry with good things and the rich he hath sent away empty. He hath helped his servant Israel in remembrance of his mercy. That's something to rejoice about. The fact that all those things can still apply to us today, that his mercy has endured forever from generation to generation, God has showed himself merciful to us. You know, God has shown himself faithful and merciful in just giving us the Bible. The fact that God has been so merciful to preserve it throughout all generations, that God has been so merciful to die for the institution of the church, that here we are today, 2,024 years later, talking about his birth. You know, praise God for that. Go to Luke 1, verse 45. We're almost done. We'll go to two more places. We'll be done. Luke 1, 45 says this, And blessed is she that believed, for there shall be a performance of those things which were told from the Lord. I love this right here saying like, hey, she's blessed because she believed. And you know, that is true for us today. You want to know why we're blessed with the problem or with the promise of going to heaven? It's that we have believed. We have trusted in God. And the Bible says, for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord. See, these ladies had no doubt that this would happen. And when you think about it, it's amazing because it's like, hey, can a virgin conceive? No, physically it is impossible, right? But yet we know through this story that it's kind of a cliche saying that people say, but it's true that God is a God of impossibilities. Because here's a story where this is an impossible situation. A woman conceiving without knowing a man, but yet they were faithful. They said, you know what? There will be a performance of the things that were told her from the Lord. And that is a powerful truth that we should walk away from this story. It's saying, look, if Mary can be told something from God that is physically impossible and she could believe it, why can't we just take the promises that God's given us and His word and also realize, hey, there's going to be a performance of the things that God has told us. And just to wait on the Lord, to be patient and to trust what He says. Hebrews chapter 4. Go to Hebrews 4. Last place we'll turn. Hebrews 4 verse 14 says, seeing then that we have a great high priest that is passed into the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. See, the virgin birth teaches us that God is not some distant, impersonal God that doesn't know us, that doesn't understand us, that doesn't know what it's like to be a human being, but rather that God actually was a child and was a baby and actually God humbled Himself so much that He had to be breastfed and had to have His diapers changed and had to grow in knowledge and in stature and had to experience being betrayed and had to experience people lying about Him and had to experience all the same troubles and problems that all of us face to where it could be true that it can't be said of Him that He can't be touched with the feelings of our infirmities. But was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. You know, that's another thing that makes our Lord different that all the false gods that are out there in this world is that Mohammed doesn't know what it's like to be you. He doesn't care about you. Mohammed doesn't love you. Buddha doesn't love you. But you know what? Jesus was rich in heaven, had everything, had all the honor and glory of being God, of being the Son of God in heaven, and He gave that all up to become a baby, to suffer, to die for us because He does love us. That's the God I want to serve. That's the God I choose. I choose the baby in the manger. That's who I choose. That's the one that I want to serve and that's the one that we should, the Bible says, hold fast our profession. You know, it's worth holding fast to our Christian profession because he actually has been touched with our infirmities. He actually does love us and he actually could help us in time of need. So when we think about the Christmas story this year, sure, let's respect Mary. Let's love Mary. Let's think that she was a great godly lady. She was. But you know what? Let's not get too focused on Mary where we think the Christmas story is about Mary. You know what it's about? It's about that baby that was born in the manger. Let's pray. Lord, thank you for this beautiful story. Thank you for the birth of your son Jesus Christ. I pray that this upcoming year you would help us all to love your son more and more and help us to hold fast our profession. Help us just to serve him with all of our might. We love you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Quick reminder, right after the service we are going to have our practice for the kids choir. Alright, for our last hymn this morning, turn if you would to 430 while shepherds watched their flocks. Hymn number 430-430 while shepherds watched their flocks. We'll sing there starting on the first. While shepherds watched their flocks, finite all seated on the ground, the angel of the Lord came down and glory shone around. And glory shone around. Fear not city for mighty dread as sees their troubled mind. What tidings of great joy I bring to you and all mankind, to you and all mankind. To you in David's town this day is born of David's wine. The Savior who is Christ the Lord, and this shall be the sign. And this shall be the sign. The heavenly debut there shall find, to you and you display. Only we wrapped in swampy beds, and in a manger blade, and in a manger blade. All glory be to God on high, and to the earth be peace. Good will is born from abdiment, begin and never cease. Begin and never cease.