FBCWest 639 | A Child Is Born
Recorded On: 12/29/2024
Bulletin
Hymn # 88 “Joy to the World”
SCRIPTURE READING – Acts 1:9 - 11
Giving of Selves and Our Offerings
OFFERTORY PRAYER
OFFERTORY MUSIC – Pru Hungate
Praise and Worship
“What a Glorious Night”
“Angels We Have Heard on High”
“O Come, O Come Emanuel”
Proclamation of the Word
Message by Pastor Joe
“A Child Is Born”
PRAYER TIME / Time of Reflection
“He Shall Reign Forevermore”
Benediction “Egypt”
Sermon Notes
Isaiah 9:2 – 5 From darkness to light, gladness increased and enemies defeated
Isaiah 9:6 & 7 A Child shall be born, who is God and He will reign in peace
Luke 2:1 – 20 A Child is born who is Christ the Lord
Revelation 22:1 – 5 The Lamb shall sit upon the throne in heaven
Scritpures
Transcript of Service
During this time of the Christmas season, you'll see a lot of manger scenes and you'll see a baby in that manger. Today we're going to talk about who that baby was and is and what he is going to do service when it's after the 25th? Well, let me tell you there's a couple of reasons why.
We don't know the day he was born.
We just simply picked for some probably secular reasons the 25th. The Eastern churches celebrate Christmas on January 12th.
So the Christmas season, and actually personally, I would have rather have celebrated on January 12th, because in a way you get the end of the year and all the hectic and whatever and it's a little more calm. So my preference, if we'd have picked a preference, I'd have said, let's do it in January. But nobody asked me, so we celebrated it. But there's another reason.
You hear people say that Christ is the reason for the season.
He's not just the reason for that season, he's a reason for every single season. We should celebrate who he is and what he has done. So the purpose of today is to take a look back,
a little further back and then in the future, to who he is and what he's done.
And we're having a little trouble again.
Okay, now I've got it.
So if you have your Bibles and you should, turn to Isaiah chapter 9, I'm going to start with verse 2.
And it says this, "The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. Those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them." Now I want you to notice something. We kind of think about that as being the lost and the Gentiles. Isaiah is talking about his own people.
That there are times when you could be so religious
that you don't see the light. So they're living in a dark land, but the light will shine on them.
"And you shall multiply the nations and you shall increase their gladness and they will be glad in your presence as the gladness of harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil." You want to say, "There's going to be a change, there's going to be a difference. There's going to be a people who were in darkness,
but there's going to be a change of victory and of rejoicing. And because not just because of how things have turned out, but because he, Emmanuel, is with us."
"For you shall break the yoke of their burden
and the staff on their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor as the battle of Midian.
For every boot of the booted warrior in the battle to molt and cloak rolled in blood will be for burning fuel for the fire." And so we are told that in this one who is going to come, who's going to show the light, that he is going to have complete victory over all enemies. And so much so that there's no longer going to be a need for battle because there will be complete victory.
Well, who is this person who is going to deliver this? Who? And we would think, "Okay, this is going to be some mighty valiant warrior on a white steed with great muscles and an imposing figure."
But that's not what the Scripture says.
"For a child will be born to us." A child.
How intimidating can a child be?
"For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us, and the government will rest on his shoulders, and his name will be called Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace."
Notice all of those things that he will be called because that is who he is. We have a tendency in our culture when we name a child, we name it for either somebody that's in our family that we look up to or whatever, or we name it based on some friend or other person that we admired. And so we named the child this. Not so much in the Jewish culture in the East. They tended to name their children after who they were. So Jacob was named Jacob because he liked to supplant things. He was a deceiver. And so he earned his name, if you will. Well, Jesus, this child, is going to be called all of these things.
He's going to be called Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace, Mighty God,
because that is who he is. He's not simply a baby in a manger.
He is the Lord God Almighty.
And then it goes on to say, "And there will be no end to you, the increase of his government or of peace." Now, I tend to be one who likes limited government,
but I like limited government because people who acquire power, as the one philosopher said, power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
But I can look forward to the day of God's government
because he does do so with peace, with equity, with love.
So he is a righteous ruler. So while I am a person of belief of limited government when it comes to people who rule my life,
I understand that the Lord is a wonderful ruler. And so his government can increase because why? Because peace will further multiply. And this is on the throne of David and over his kingdom. So again, this child is going to be a descendant of David because God had made a promise to David that his kingdom would last forever. And to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forever more.
In this government, we have elections and we have somebody in power and then we have somebody else in power and then we go back and forth. And sometimes we hope that that's going to be well and sometimes we're convinced it's going to be terrible and maybe it's not as bad. But it's always back and forth. But when it comes to when this one will rule and reign,
it will be forever more.
And the zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.
Notice God is going to do this not out of some sense of boredom or not out of some sense of obligation.
He is doing it with the zeal of the Lord. He is going to place himself in this little baby placed in a manger.
That was the prediction.
That was the prophecy.
The night, the day that we celebrate Christmas, the birth of this newborn King. In Luke chapter two verse one, it says this, now in those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that a census should be taken of all the inhabited earth.
This was the first census taken while Cornelius was governor of Syria. Now, I want you to notice something. This wasn't one of those once upon a time events. The scriptures will clearly give you when this takes place because guess what? It took place.
This isn't a story.
This is a verification of God's word.
And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city.
And Joseph also went up from Galilee from the city of Nazareth to Judea to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and the family of David. In order to register along with Mary, who was engaged and again betrothed, legally married to him and was with child.
And while they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth.
And she gave birth to a firstborn son and she wrapped him in cloth and laid him in a manger. That's a feeding trough, because there was no room for them in the end.
Could you imagine what the innkeeper would have thought?
He actually knew that Jesus was the son of God,
who was the one who was spoken of by Isaiah.
Or if one of the persons in one of the rooms of the innkeeper,
I suspect that if I had one of those rooms and I knew that Jesus was going to be born, I'd probably gladly give up my room for him.
But nobody bothered, because no one knew.
Because there was no room for them in the room. In the same region, there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flocks by night.
And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terribly frightened. And I can only imagine that to be the case. When you're out there with a bunch of sheep, and all of a sudden a bunch of angelic hosts appear,
you're probably thinking, "This is not going to be good, because I've not seen this before." And so they were frightened.
But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid,
for behold, I bring you good news, the gospel, good news, of great joy, which will be for all the people. It's not just going to be for the Jew, it's going to be for the Jew and the Gentile. Everyone is going to have this great joy.
For today in the city of David, for today in Bethlehem, there has been born for you,
those of us who needed a Savior,
who is Christ the Lord.
This child is not just simply a child, he is a Savior.
That is what he came to do. That is what he came to be.
That's why I say it is not just, Christmas is not just the reason for the season, he is the reason for all seasons, because we have this day a Savior that has been born for us.
And this will be a sign for you. You will find a baby wrapped in cloth and lying in a manger. Now this, again, we read these things and we kind of get used to them, but I want you to really understand, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, Emmanuel, God with us. You're going to find him not in a palace, not attended by a bunch of royal servants. You're going to find him in a manger, which is a feeding trough and a barn, if you will.
I would hazard the guess,
none of us would want our children there.
And yet, God himself placed this child in a manger, wrapped in cloth, so that the angel tells the shepherds, "This is how you're going to find him."
And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of heavenly hosts praising God and saying,
"Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased."
And when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, "Let us go straight to Bethlehem." Again, notice they don't waste any time.
These shepherds, who probably weren't college educated,
probably weren't the upper echelon,
they took immediate action.
What do we do in our society today?
Well, I know that this babe is Christ the Lord,
but I'll wait to follow him.
There are things in my life that I want to accomplish first,
and then I'll go see him.
These shepherds, as poor as they are, have greater wisdom than some of the most highly educated people in our society because they went straight to find him.
"Let us go straight to Bethlehem then and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us."
God himself let us know a bunch of shepherds tending their flocks at night.
So they came in a hurry. They didn't wait.
I kind of think, I wonder, well, what did they put the sheep in a sheep pen or did they say, "Okay, odd man out. You got the short straw, so you got to stay. The rest of us get to go because the sheep still need to be tended." So what did they do? But they knew the importance of this situation. They wanted to go in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph and the baby as they lay in that feeding trough.
When they had seen this, they had made known the statement which had been told them about this child.
And all who heard it, wandered at all these things which were told by them of the shepherds.
But Mary, again, Mary's a thinker, but Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.
And the shepherds went back glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen just as had been told of them.
So Isaiah prophesied that for unto us a child will be born, for unto us a Savior would be given,
and then we are told by an angel that this child that was born in Bethlehem is that child.
I want to use opposite arguments to prove a point. And the first argument you're going to go, boy, you're reaching, but bear with me.
Most of you know that I root for a particular football team and the National Football League.
And I was watching a sports program where everybody was talking about who they thought should be the most valuable player.
And so there was three or four that had the conversation about being the best, most valuable player. And they would talk about their statistics and whether the amount of yards they had thrown or touchdowns versus interceptions. And everybody was making the point as to which person should be the most valuable player.
And then the one who probably seemed to have the least knowledge said
that the quarterback on the team that I am a fan of, they go,
"He doesn't have the statistics.
He cannot argue statistically why this person should be the most valuable player." And there's no case that you can make to stand on that this person is the most valuable player, except he is the most valuable player.
Now, when it comes to--so that's the argument of the negative. There's something that you just understand to be true, even though you can't prove it.
There's something that we understand to be true, that Jesus, the baby placed in this manger, is the son of God.
It's not because there's no evidence for it, just plain. There is evidence upon evidence upon evidence. And it starts all the way back in Genesis,
when the word of God says that this one, the seed of a woman-- now, I've even read it, said, "Well, you know, they were so ignorant that--" They were far more aware of how plants and animals co-create.
So it wasn't a mistake when it was said that the seed of a woman will be born,
that will bruise, that his heel will be bruised, but the head will be wounded.
Eve herself, when Seth was born, was hoping that that was the deliverer.
Throughout the Scriptures, there has been prophecies of this one, just as Isaiah had said.
We find it in--throughout the Scriptures, whether it's Psalms or Isaiah or Zechariah or Malachi, all these various different prophecies.
This one, how is it that we know other than this proclamation?
He was born of a virgin, prophesied in the Scriptures.
He was born in Bethlehem, prophesied in the Scriptures.
He came out of Egypt, prophesied in the Scriptures.
Heaven itself declared that this is my beloved Son in whom I well plead.
He spoke and taught the Scriptures, and they amazed people because he spoke with authority.
He healed the sick.
He healed those who had diseases and hemorrhaging. He healed the blind and the deaf and the mute. He raised the dead.
He even had his ministry rejected and despised by his own people, as predicted by the Scriptures.
He died according to the Scriptures.
He was buried according to the Scriptures, and he rose again according to the Scriptures.
Now, I want you to notice something. Jesus didn't click off all these things and say, "Oh, well, this is what the Bible says, and this is not what I do." It's the exact opposite. The Bible said, "When you see this happen, you'll know that this is the guy."
And most of the prophecies that I showed, unless he were God, could not make it happen. So, for instance, a mere human could not be born of a virgin.
You can't do that.
God moves the Roman Empire to have a census at a particular time, so a family in Nazareth has to go to Bethlehem, not because the Scripture said it, but because they were compelled to go to register.
All of these things, the way he died, not fully "in his control," unless he were God.
This child, that lay in a manger, is and was and always shall be God.
And we've come as the shepherds and as the wise men to worship him because of who he is.
Oh, yes, he is our Savior, and we are so grateful that he has saved us from ourselves and made us free from our sins.
But even if he hadn't done that, he still deserves to be worshiped because he's God.
And while we respond in faith, it is not blind faith. We see the Word of God and what it says, who he is, and we respond because we see it.
There's one last prophecy that I haven't mentioned.
There are two capstones, if you will, of proofs.
One is that he raised from the dead.
But again, raised from the dead according to the Scriptures.
Where you see, there is one called the Antichrist, who will also raise from the dead, but he will raise from the dead according to the Scriptures to state who he is, the Antichrist.
But there is a prophecy that almost no one ever talks about.
It's found in Daniel. Daniel tells us that there is going to be a decree made to build Jerusalem and then to build the temple.
And then he's going to say, from that moment on, there's going to be a certain number of years, and the Messiah will appear.
We are told in the Scriptures that Jesus entered into Jerusalem on Adonchai's colt according to Zechariah,
but he entered exactly at the time Daniel prophesied, which means he is the Messiah.
But here's the bad news. If Jesus isn't the Messiah, then that prophecy expired, and there is no one coming to save us.
So it's Jesus or no one.
But because the Word of God is true and because all of the various prophecies that point to who he is,
when people say, well, you know, you can believe what you want to believe. No, I believe what I want to believe because he has said so, and I can trust it.
But whether I believe that Jesus is the Messiah or not is irrelevant to whether he is or is not.
But that child laying in a manger will grow up, teach us, and to give his life a ransom for you and me.
And will die a cruel death, despised and rejected.
Then we'll raise again on the third day.
And as we read, I sent it into heaven, and we are told that someday he will return exactly the same way.
He left from the Mount of Olives, and he will descend to the Mount of Olives.
So just as Isaiah wrote that there was a time when people were living in a dark time,
the Messiah came, that great light. And then he went to heaven, and we are now waiting from that time that he ascended to when he is going to return.
And our faith is not about a baby who was born in a manger some 2,000 years ago. It is about the person who, as Isaiah said, his government rests on his shoulders and they will know no end, that he will give peace and righteousness because of who he is. So the last scripture I want us to look at is found in Revelation chapter 22 towards the end of the story.
Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb.
And in the middle of its streets, on either side of the river was the tree of life.
I try to picture that. I know the reality of it is not going to match my picture, but it's talking about a tree of life. It's on either side of the river. So is it like the roots go over the river?
So when we get there, I want to get to see this image in reality. So there's this tree of life over the river bearing 12 kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit of every month, and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
And there will no longer be any curse, and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his bondservants will serve him.
Isn't that what Isaiah talked about? That of his government there will be no end, that he will reign in peace, there will be no curse, there will be joy and amazement.
And we his servants will serve him, and they will see his face.
They will see his face.
We have a disadvantage of the shepherds and the wise men, because when they came to see this child that was laying in a manger, or as the wise men who saw him in the house,
they saw him face to face.
Jesus does tell us that we are more blessed than they, because we believe having not seen him face to face. But it's just a matter of time that there will be a time when we will see him face to face.
And on, and his name will be on their forehead.
And there will no longer be any night, and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illuminate them, and they will reign forever and ever.
There will be a people who see a great light.
And the light is so great, we no longer need the sun or the stars or the moon, because he provides that light.
So you see, all the way back from Isaiah, all the way to what hasn't happened yet, has been prophesied that in this one that is laying in a manger,
is more than just the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. And because of who he is, and because of what he has done, we can celebrate victory.
No longer do we need to worry about oppression.
No longer do we need to worry about loss.
But because he gives us victory.
And I can follow him because his government, there will be no end, but it will do so with love and mercy and justice and equity for now and forever more.
So yes, we celebrate this baby born and placed in a manger.
But we also worship that baby who grows up to be the savior of the whole world.
In the past, we have lit candles to represent that this light who came from heaven has come to us and that we are the light of the world as well as we go out and we go out.
Today, we're going to remain in the sanctuary as we light the candles.
But we're not going to sing silent night.
We're going to testify that this one was born in a manger who ascended to heaven from the Mount of Olives.
It's going to come back.
And just as we are told when we celebrate the Lord's Supper, in the Lord's Supper, we declare his death until he comes.
For Christmas, we will declare his life until he returns.