Getting Christmas Right - Part 3. Getting Christmas Right

Transcription

1 Getting Christmas Right - Part 3 Getting Christmas Right >>> We want to continue our study through Matthew 2, the first 12 verses. And in order for us to get a full view of it, we want to hear the scripture and see the scripture as we watch this video together. >> Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the King behold wise men from the east came to Jerusalem saying, where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star when it rose and have come to worship Him. When Herod the King heard this, he was troubled. And all Jerusalem with him. And assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him in Bethlehem of Judea for so it is written by the prophet and you, oh Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judea. For from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel. Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared and he sent them to Bethlehem saying, go and search diligently for the child and when you have found Him bring me word that I, too, may come and worship Him. After listening to the king, they went on their way, and behold, the star they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy and going into the house, they saw the child with Mary His mother and they fell down and worshipped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered Him gifts -- gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way. >> So take your Bibles if you would and open them back up to Matthew 2 as we continue to study this passage of scripture in a series we're calling "Getting Christmas Right." There's so much about the Christmas story that we have always believed because we have always heard it or sung it or saw it but it really doesn't match what the Bible teaches, especially associated with the visit of the wise men so we're focusing this series on that part of the Christmas story. Now, we have already talked about the setting of the story on week number one, and we answered the questions when did these events take place? We answered the question, where did these events take place and who was in charge at the time? Then last Sunday we looked at the seekers that involved in the story, the wise men. And we answered the question, who were they? How many were there on that time that they visited? And how did they even know about this Messiah that had been born King of the Jews? And if you missed any of that I encourage you to go back online and watch the video from those services to catch you up. Well, today we want to move a step further and today we want to talk about the sign involved. And most of the time it's referred to as a star. Now, I've already had several of you say you have ruined my Christmas with all of this -- it's different than I always expect. Well, if I haven't ruined your Christmas yet I'm getting ready to do that today. Okay? As we talk about the star and learn some facts from the Bible about what it was and how exactly it functioned in the story.

2 So let me begin by reading Matthew 2:1-2 again and that's as far as we've gotten so far. Now, by the grace of God we're going to get through verse 6 today and then we'll finish up the passage next Sunday. Matthew 2 says, now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the King magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem saying, where is He who has been born King of the Jews? And here's where we pick it up today. For we saw His star in the east. And literally it would read rising in the east. And have come to worship Him. So let's talk about this sign. Let's talk about this star. Now, let me begin by offering you a variety of suggestions that are out there and there's no limit to the number of suggestions. Obviously, some -- the most popular view would be that it was a literal star. Now, let me just say this. It could have been. Now, I'm going to give you in a few moments what I think it was and I don't think it was a literal star and I'm going to show you why in a few moments but let me just make sure I'm clear up front. One of the things we need to be careful of when we read the Bible is that we're not dogmatic on things that are not seen dogmatically. Okay? In other words, we know there was a sign in the sky. We don't know dogmatically exactly what it was so even though I'm going to present to you my view which is different than a star, I'm not presenting it dogmatically. I'm not saying it's 100% for certain because we can't be dogmatic on it but it's very interesting to think through. Many think it was a real star. Some believe that it was the planet Jupiter because the planet Jupiter is called the king of the planets. Some believe it was a conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn coming together making the Christian mark of the fish in the sky. Others believe that it's all kinds of conjunctions of constellations which if you know the constellations show you all kinds of pictures in the sky. Now, I've struggled with that view a lot because if you really read carefully the Christmas story you discover that whatever this sign was, this star was, it appears, it disappears, it reappears, it moves and it sets over the house where Mary and Joseph and the Christ child was. So I have a hard time seeing that as a conjunction that shows constellations in the sky. There are others who say it was a comet or a low-hanging meteor or a super nova, an exploding star. There are some who even will tell you it was a UFO and they're going to have a redneck Christmas, those ones. So you know -- who knows? There are also some who say it wasn't really at all. It was just in the heart of the wise men. Now, that's kind of a bunch of rubbish because the wise men said, we saw His star. So, obviously, it was something literal, something physical that they saw. But what was it? You can go and you can do a lot of research on your own. I spent a lot of time the last few weeks watching all kinds of YouTube clips on the star of Bethlehem. And all of the scientific thought and the astronomy and everything else. And a lot of it was like, you got to be kidding me. Some of it was very thought provoking and perhaps has a little bit of merit to it. But I personally don't think that it was any of those things. I think that the star, the sign, the wise men saw was something completely different. So again, if I haven't ruined your Christmas yet, let's do that right now. Let's notice some specifics about it. What do we learn? Well, first of all, understand this word star. We saw His star. It's a word that literally means a blazing forth. Now, yes, it is used in the Bible at times to speak of a literal star. But it's also used many times in the Bible speaking of something that was not a literal star but something that was simply blazing forth. So it doesn't have to specifically be a star

3 because of this word that's used. It could have been. I'm not saying it may not have been a star. I take a different view but I'm not dogmatic on it. We do know this. We do know that this word refers to anything that blazes forth. Okay? Now, at this point, you have to decide where am I going to look to come up with options as to what this was? And some quickly go to science. Some quickly go to astronomy and study all of the history of the revolving of the stars and the planets to see about that time frame what it might have been and I really believe that they miss a major rule of Bible interpretation and the rule is this. You always start by interpreting scripture with other scripture. So in other words, if we see in Matthew 2 that the wise men saw this blazing forth in the sky and we need to determine what was it, we have to stop and say, does the scripture give us any hint in other places as to what this blazing forth may have been? And I think it does. In fact, let me ask you this question. Is there any other situation revolving the Christmas story in which individuals saw a blazing light in the sky? And the answer is, yes. So you have your Bible, go over to the book of Luke. Luke 2. And in Luke 2 you have the night of the birth of Jesus. And you have the shepherds who are out on the fields watching the flock by night. And remember what happens. The angels come and they tell them about the birth of Jesus. But notice the description when it happens. Look at Luke 2:8. In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them -- and don't miss the next phrase. And the glory of the Lord shown round about them and because of this bright blaze around them they were terribly frightened. So what do we learn about the day of the birth of Jesus? We learn that when the angels came to give the message to the shepherds there was a blazing light in the sky. It was the glory of the Lord. And I believe it's very possible that the blazing light that the wise men saw was not a literal star, but rather, the glory of the Lord that God revealed to them in the sky that matches exactly what the shepherds saw when the angels came and gave them the message. In fact, when you go through the Bible it's the pattern. Every time God reveals a little bit of His glory it is seen in a blazing light. Let me just walk you through a few of the passages that show this. All the way back to the book of Exodus 24:17 when Moses is on the mountain with God and all of Israel is looking up at the mountain and they see the glory of the Lord on the mountain and notice what the glory of the Lord is described as. Exodus 24:17. And to the eyes of the sons of Israel the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on the mountaintop. They looked up and saw a blazing light. If you keep in the book of Exodus and you go to 34, God has been talking with Moses on the mountain. Moses asks to see God. God says, you can't see Me and live but He says you can see the backside of My glory and when he sees that and when he comes off the mountain because he's seen the glory of God his face radiates with a transference of that glory. In fact, look at Exodus 34:30. So when Aaron and all the sons of Israel saw Moses after he came off the mountain after seeing the glory of God, the skin of his face shown and they were afraid to come near him. In fact, if you keep reading, Moses had to wear a

4 veil over his face because it shown with the transference of the brightness of the glory of the Lord. Every time in the Bible the glory of the Lord is seen, it comes in a penetrating light. Go to Matthew 17. Let's fast forward. Let's go beyond Christmas. In Matthew 17 we have the transfiguration of Jesus. He's on the mountain with Peter, James and John. He's transfigured. Think see Him in His glory standing with Moses and Elijah, and notice as He's transfigured, as they see His glory, notice how it's described. Matthew 17:2 and He was transfigured before them and His face shown like the sun. A blazing light. And His garments became as white as light. Every time in scripture that God reveals His glory we see it in a penetrating, physical light. Go to Acts 26. Let me show you a couple more. Acts 26. When the Apostle Paul is telling the story of his conversion on the road to Damascus, when he meets Jesus, notice what he says. While so engaged as I was journeying to Damascus with the authority and the commission of the chief priest, at midday, oh king, I saw on the way a light from heaven brighter than the sun. Every time God reveals His glory it comes in a penetrating light. Shining all around me. In fact, go to the book of Revelation because this whole pattern continues all the way to the end. In Revelation 1:16, we see a picture of Jesus on the throne. Notice what it says about His glory. It says, in His right hand He held seven stars. Out of His mouth came a sharp, two-edged sword and His face was like the sun shining in its strength. The glory of the Lord seen in a penetrating, blazing light. In fact, when you go to the end of the book, Revelation 21, you see a description of heaven. The new Jerusalem, the heavenly city. And the Bible says in that city, there is no sun. There is no moon because you don't need them to light the place. Why? Look at Revelation 21:23. And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it. Why? For the glory of God has illumined it and its lamp is the Lamb. Every time God reveals His glory it is seen in a penetrating light. Not only did that happen when He first came, for sure with the shepherds, I believe with the wise men, too, but it will happen again at His second coming. Look at Matthew 24. We are going to see the same thing. We are going to see His glory shining as a blazing light at His second coming. In Matthew 24:29, it says this. But immediately after the tribulation. Now, remember, the tribulation is a seven-year period that's coming when God will judge the world for their unbelief. Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened. The moon will not give its light. It's going to be pitch black. The stars will fall from the sky. And the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Now look at this. And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. What is the sign? It's going to be a penetrating light. Look at it. And then all the tribes of the earth will mourn and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. And so, suddenly the darkness will be changed to a penetrating light as Jesus returns in His second coming with power and great glory. You see, all through the Bible every time God revealed His glory it was seen in a penetrating light. Let me show you just a couple more verses that I think are interesting because not only that but in the Bible, Jesus is described as a star. Go to the book of Numbers. Numbers 24. It's a very interesting story.

5 This is the story when a prophet named Bahlam has been hired by a wicked king, Bahlick, to curse the children of Israel. And God has a unique way of stopping bah lam from giving this curse. God uses His donkey and he has his donkey talk to him. It's a great story. Now, what's even more amazing than the fact that the donkey talked to Bahlam, what's even more amazing is that Bahlam talked back to the donkey. It's even more amazing. Incredible story. But after all that happens, Bahlam gives a prophesy and in the prophesy he predicts the coming of the Messiah. And notice what he calls Him. Numbers 24:17. He says, I see Him, but not now. I behold Him, not near. It's still in the future. A star shall come forth from Jacob, a scepter shall rise from Israel. And so, the very prophesy of the coming of Jesus at His birth is described as Him being a star. I believe when the wise men said, we saw His star, they were seeing His glory. The glory of the Lord that God revealed to them that was a blazing light. Not only that, if you go to Revelation 22:16, notice what Jesus calls Himself. It says, I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright and morning star. So when the wise men said, we saw His star, I believe that what the wise men really saw, what God revealed to them was the same thing the shepherds saw. I believe that He revealed to them the very glory of the Lord, seen in a blazing light. Now, it could have been a literal star. I'm not saying it wasn't. We can't know for sure. But when I interpret scripture with scripture, I believe it fits the glory of the Lord because, by the way, folks, that's what Christmas is. Christmas is God showing His amazing glory in an amazing way. You see, back at creation God whispered His glory. Right? The heavens declared the glory of God. Throughout the Old Testament, God spoke His glory as you would see these incidents take place. Some of which we read. But on Christmas morning when Jesus is born in Bethlehem, God shouts His glory to the world and never was there a better way to know who God was than to see His glory in the person of Jesus Christ. So I believe that it's quite possible that there was never really a star over a manger. I believe it's very possible that what everybody saw was the glory of the Lord. Now, that brings up a question. I call it the solitude because some would say, well, wait a second. If that's true, how is it that it appears only the wise men saw it? I mean, if there's this blazing light in the sky, how is it that only the wise men seem to have seen it? Isn't that a problem? And I don't think it's a problem at all because in the Bible there are many examples where God allows some people to see something that He doesn't allow others to see. Let me give you one of them. In the book of Exodus 14, Israel has left Egypt. The armies of the Egyptians have followed them pursuing them. They get to the Red Sea. They're trapped. The Red Sea is in front of them. The army of the Egyptians is behind them. Now, the Bible tells us that the angel of the Lord and the pillar of cloud representing the glory and presence of God that was leading them now goes to the back of the Israel people. And stands in between the children of Israel and the Egyptian army. And notice what happens in Exodus 14:19. Then the angel of God who had been traveling in front of Israel's army withdrew and went behind them and the pillar of cloud which symbolizes the presence and glory of God also moved from in front and stood behind them, coming between the armies of Egypt and

6 Israel. Now, look at this. Throughout the night, the cloud brought darkness to the one side and the same cloud brought light to the other side. So what happened? This pillar of cloud representing the glory of the Lord now goes and sits itself in between the children of Israel and the armies of Egypt. And when the children of Israel looked back at it they see it as a blazing light. When the armies of Egypt look forward at it, they see it as total darkness. They're looking at the same thing but God causes some of them to see it as light and some of them to see it as darkness. So I don't think there's any problem with the fact that on the day of the birth of Jesus God allowed the shepherds and the wise men to see this blazing light in the sky that he didn't allow anyone else to see. So I think it's very possible that the sign in the sky wasn't a literal star though it could have been. I think it was the very glory of the Lord. But no matter what you think it is let me set some things straight. Notice the search. A couple of things I want you to notice. No matter what it was, whether it was a literal star or the glory of the Lord, those seem to be the two best possibilities, I want you to see that nowhere in the Bible do the wise men ever follow the star from where they lived in Persia over to Palestine. I know the song says they followed the star but nowhere in scripture did they follow the star to Palestine. Remember what they say to Herod when they got there? We saw His star, past tense. They didn't say we followed it. They didn't say, hey look. There it is, Herod. They said, we saw His star. So here's what happened. God revealed to them through a sign in the sky, whether it's a literal star or whether it's glory of the Lord. He reveals to them that the Messiah whom they have been waiting for has been born. The star then disappears. The wise men start their journey to Palestine because if you're looking for a King of the Jews it only makes sense you're going to go to Jerusalem. So they go to Jerusalem. They travel through Jerusalem. Where is He born King of the Jews? They get a hearing with Herod. They find out from Herod that He was to be born in Bethlehem. So they leave Jerusalem. They start their five-mile journey to Bethlehem and the Bible will tell us next week that this sign in the sky, this star or whatever it was, reappears and they rejoice greatly. And then the star leads them and it sits right over the house where Mary and Joseph and the Christ child was. The wise men did not follow a star from their home in Persia. They did follow the star for the few miles from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. By the way, nowhere in scripture do we ever see this star resting over the manger. You don't see it. The shepherds did not follow a star. I know that's what the "First Noel" tells us but the shepherds did not follow a star. When the angels appeared to the shepherds and then left, the shepherds didn't say, wow, look at star. Let's go follow it to the manger. That's not how they found the baby Jesus. Remember how they found the baby Jesus? The angel gave them the sign. The angel didn't say, this will be a sign to you. There will be a star over the manger. That's not what the angel said. The angel said, this will be a sign to you. You will find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. That's how they found the baby Jesus. They ran through Bethlehem going cave to cave to cave because there wasn't a whole lot of them that had babies lying in the feeding trough. There was only one. And when they found that one, they knew this was the one the angels spoke about.

7 You see, there's a lot that we have always believed about the Christmas story that you just can't see in the pages of scripture. And that I think it's important that we learn a lesson. Christmas and every time else. And that's this. We cannot get our biblical perspective from songs and other means. We have to look to scripture. So notice something else now as we move on. Let me just introduce to you now the scheme involved. In Matthew 2:3, Herod's now going to start a scheme. We'll finish it next week but let me introduce it to you. In 2:3, here's what it says. It says, when Herod the King heard this. Heard what? That these kingmakers had come into Jerusalem saying that the King of the Jews had been born, it says Herod was troubled and all of Jerusalem with him. Now, keep this in mind. Very important. It says when Herod sees this, notice his reaction. The reaction of Herod is, he's troubled. Now, the word troubled is a very intense word. It's used in Matthew -- I think it's chapter when Jesus is walking on the water and the disciples think it's a ghost and the Bible says the disciples because they thought they saw a ghost, they were troubled. All right? Now, think about it. How would you feel, what emotions would you feel if you woke up in the middle of the night. There's a storm over the place. Lightning's cracking, the power's out and you're pretty sure you see a ghost. What emotions are you going to feel? That's what the word troubled means. I mean, this is a very intense word. Now, why is Herod troubled? Because he's the king of the Jews. He's not the king of the Jews because he was born to that position. He's the king of the Jews because he worked his way in politically. He doesn't want someone taking his spot. So when he hears that this one was born who has the right to be king of the Jews, he's troubled. He sees it as a threat. Now, interestingly enough, and we pointed this out two weeks ago, the verse says, all Jerusalem was troubled with him. Now, I find that interesting because remember, these dear Jewish people, every single day of their life would have been praying for God to send the Messiah. Now, they weren't looking for a Messiah to save them from their sin. They were looking for political Messiah. They wanted someone to come in and free them from the tyranny of Rome and they were praying every day for God to send the Messiah and now kingmakers have come into town and said, guess what? It happened! Your prayers have been answered! Now, you would think that every person in Jerusalem would be highly celebrating. You would think there would be a party, dancing in the streets. Our Messiah has finally come! Hip hip hooray! But instead it says all of Jerusalem was troubled with Herod. Why? Why would all of Jerusalem be troubled, frightened like they saw a ghost, at this news? The answer's very simple. If you remember I told you two weeks ago that Herod was very paranoid and whenever Herod felt threatened innocent people always died. And the people of Jerusalem knew that. And they knew that this news was going to so bother Herod and so threaten Herod that innocent people were going to die. And as a result, the people of Jerusalem instead of being able to celebrate the spiritual victory that was happening that day in Bethlehem, they could not look past their own despondency at the political climate that they were in at that time. And I think the same thing is true for many Christians today. You talk to many Christians

8 and we're so focused on the political climate that we're in that we forget about the spiritual freedom that Christ brought us. So Herod is troubled. All of Jerusalem is troubled with him. Let's keep reading in Matthew 2:4-6. Notice what happens. Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, Herod inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They said to him, in Bethlehem of Judea, for this is what has been written by the prophet. And you Bethlehem land of Judea are by no means least among the leaders of Judea for out of you shall come a leader who shall shepherd My people Israel. Notice the response of Herod. When Herod hears this news, he pulls together his religious experts, the chief priests, the scribes, the Sanhedrin, the ones who know the law, the ones who know the Old Testament. And he asks them a question. He says, according to the prophets, where was this King of the Jews, this Messiah to be born? Now, keep something in mind, folks. Keep something in mind that in the Old Testament God gave over 300 prophesies about the coming Messiah. Over 300 specific prophesies. He did it for one reason. So that no one could miss Him. It was so obvious because Jesus ends up fulfilling all of these prophesies. And so, Herod says, what did the prophets say about the place of His birth? Now, you got to put yourself in King Herod's shoes. King Herod sees this newborn king as a threat. If it's a threat, he's going to eliminate the threat so he wants to discover where this child is so he can find the child and kill the child. So he brings in the chief priests. And he says, where was the child to be born? They quote from the prophet Micah. You can find it in Micah 5:2. Very specifically God said through the prophet Micah that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. So Herod now knows this much. And what he's going to do, we'll see it next week. He's going to say it to the wise men. He's going to say, you go to Bethlehem. You find this King of the Jews. Then you come back and tell me where He is so I can go worship him, as well. But we know he has a different plan in mind. He wants to kill Him. We'll see that next week. But before we do, I want to point out one more thing. I think it's very interesting that Herod had to pull in the chief priests and scribes and ask them. I think that's very interesting. He's the king of the Jews. He's the one that's learned the Jewish culture and customs. He's the one that reigns and rules over this area but he has to call in the chief priests and scribes to answer the question, where's the Messiah to be born? Folks, that was common knowledge in Palestine. Let me show you. Go to John 7. In John 7 we see that this was common knowledge because in John 7 they're talking about Jesus and people are going, wow, I think He's a prophet. Others going, no, no. I think He's the Christ. And others going, well, He can't be the Christ because he's from Nazareth. Now, remember they didn't put together He may have lived in Nazareth but He was born where? In Bethlehem. And notice what they say in John 7:40. Some of the people, therefore, when they heard these words were saying, this certainly is the Prophet. Others were saying, this is the Christ. Still others were saying, surely the Christ is not going to come from Galilee, from Nazareth in Galilee, is He? Has not the scriptures said, this is the talk of the common people. Has not the scriptures said that the Christ comes from the descendants of David and from Bethlehem the village where David was?

9 You see, ladies and gentlemen, it was common knowledge that the Messiah would come from Bethlehem. But King Herod, the king of the Jews didn't get it. He didn't understand it. It was all around him. But he didn't understand what the prophets had said. And in a very real way there's a lot of the people today that have the same issue. Most people today realize that Christmas has something to do with the birth of Christ. They may not celebrate it that way. They may not worship Him. But they understand there's some connection. But what they don't understand is why. On my radio show this week on The Eagle, Mike asked me this question. He said, Pastor Scott, Jesus was born a long time ago. So here's my question. How is the birth of Jesus so many years ago still relevant to you and I today in northern Michigan? I thought, wow, I get to answer this question. This is great. And I shared. I said, you know, Mike, here's what most people don't understand. Most people don't understand why Jesus came. And the Bible makes it very clear. And here's what the Bible says. That Christ Jesus came into the world, that's Christmas, right? Christ Jesus came into the world, Paul said, to save sinners. That's the part most people don't get. Why did Jesus come into this world? To save sinners. You say, well, how's that relevant to me? Let me ask you a question. Let's be honest. By a show of hands, realizing that sin is anything you've ever done that disobeyed God, by a show of hands, how many of you in this room would say, yep, I'm a sinner? Raise your hand. Keep it up. Keep it up. Now, if your hand's not up, it should be because you either know you're a sinner and not admitting it which is lying which is a sin or you think you're perfect and you're not which is pride which is a sin so either way all your hands should be up. All right. Put your hands down. Folks, listen. Every single one of us in this room, every single person that lives in northern Michigan, is a sinner. Why did Jesus come? Christ Jesus came into the world to what? Save sinners. Are you a sinner? You just admitted it. You know what that tells me? Christmas is relevant to you. Christ Jesus came into the world -- listen -- to save you. You see, your sin separates you from God. God who is holy cannot have a relationship with a sinner. And you and I are sinners. And God who is just must punish sin. And sin against an eternal God must be punished eternally. And that's why there is a very literal place called hell where sinners will spend eternity. But listen. God loved you so much He did something about that. Even though you had never been born yet, over 2,000 years ago in a little obscure village named Bethlehem God sent His Son into this world and Jesus Christ the very Son of God took on flesh and dwelt among us and lived a perfect life. And because He was perfect, He could do for you what nobody else could. When He died on the cross, He paid the penalty for your sin. Listen. He was your perfect substitute. And even though you had never been born yet, when Jesus Christ hung on the cross, God took every sin you've ever committed and put it on Jesus and God punished Jesus in full for your sin and my sin. He paid the penalty for us. And then three days later he proved he was exactly who he claimed to be. God in the flesh. When He rose from the dead. And because of His death and because of His resurrection the Bible teaches that if we believe that and if we're willing to put our faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, if we're willing to do that, the Bible says that God will forgive us of all of our sin and He will put on our account

10 the righteousness of Christ. And because of faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ I can have a relationship with God today. I can walk with God today. I can know Him today. And I can have the full assurance that the day comes when my life ends I will spend all of eternity in heaven where the glory of the Lord will light the entire place! Folks, listen. Christmas isn't just a historical fact. It is relevant to you today. It is the only thing that can bring you forgiveness. It is the only thing that can bring you life. It is the only thing that can bring you hope. That's why we celebrate. That's why we sing. That's why Christmas matters! It always has, it always will. Would you bow with me for prayer? With our heads bowed, our eyes closed, it's my desire that we would get Christmas right. And the number one way to get Christmas right is to understand why Jesus came. It's to understand that even though you weren't born yet, you play a vital role in the Christmas story. The bad news is you're a sinner. And your sin separates you from God and your sin must be punished for all of eternity. The good news is that at Christmas Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. He died for your sins. He rose from the dead. And He offers to you today your only chance, your only source of forgiveness. He offers to you today your only source to have a relationship with Him. He offers to you today your only source for spending eternity in heaven. And the Bible says the wages of sin is death. That's what we deserve. But because of Christmas, because Christ came to save sinners, the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. And I wonder this morning, have you gotten Christmas right? Have you trusted Jesus to be your Lord, to be your Savior? Have you put your faith in Him? And if you haven't, if you've never done that, would you like to do it today? Right where you're seated, the Bible says whosoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved. And you can verbalize that to God with words like this. You can whisper it in your heart. He hears your thoughts. You can say, Jesus, I know I'm a sinner. And I don't deserve Your heaven. But I believe that You came to earth to save sinners like me. I believe You died on the cross and paid the penalty for my sin. I believe You rose from the dead, and I believe You're the only way to heaven. And right now I want to get Christmas right. I invite You to come into my life. I ask You to forgive me of all of my sins and to give me a home in heaven. And I will live for You the rest of my life. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me. And with every head bowed and every eye closed, no one's looking around. I'm not going to embarrass you. I'm not going to call out your name. Nothing like that. I just want to have the joy in the week to come of praying for you. If you just prayed that right now for the first time and you really meant it, you're serious, you're not just saying words, you were making a commitment, if you just did that right now for the first time with no one else looking, I'll be the only one that sees, just so I can pray for you in the days ahead, would you just lift your hand high? All over the building. Just lift it high. God bless you. Thank you. Thank you. God bless you in the balcony. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Let's stand together for prayer. Father, I thank You for Christmas. I thank You that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. I thank You for these this morning who have made that commitment of faith to trust Jesus. And I pray

11 that as we move in to this Christmas holiday this week that our hearts will overflow as we get Christmas right. And I pray this in Jesus' name, amen. If you just lifted your hand, if you just made that commitment, I want to ask you to do me a favor. This week, would you just send may ? Go online. Send me an . Let me know you made that decision so that I can reply to you with some great next steps for you to take. I'd appreciate that. Please don't forget, Christmas Eve right here 5:00, 7:00. Let's worship the Lord together.