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The Power of Christmas Truth (Selected Scriptures) John MacArthur · THE BELIEVER'S CHURCH | Let’s Build Our Faith Together

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  Speaker 1: Will you open your Bible as we look together to
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  Speaker 1: this great, great story of the birth of Christ? And
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  Speaker 1: our text, Matthew chapter 1, and I would like to
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  Speaker 1: begin reading at verse 21 and read down through verse
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  Speaker 1: 4 of chapter 2. This to provide a setting for
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  Speaker 1: the message that God has put on my heart for
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  Speaker 1: this morning. Matthew 1.21, And she will bear a son,
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  Speaker 1: and you shall call his name Jesus, for it is
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  Speaker 1: he who will save his people from their sins. Now
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  Speaker 1: all this took place that what was spoken by the
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  Speaker 1: Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, Behold, the
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  Speaker 1: virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a son,
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  Speaker 1: and they shall call his name Immanuel, which translated means
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  Speaker 1: God with us. And Joseph arose from his sleep, and
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  Speaker 1: did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and
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  Speaker 1: took her as his wife, and kept her a virgin
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  Speaker 1: until she gave birth to a son, and he called
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  Speaker 1: his name Jesus. Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem
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  Speaker 1: of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold,
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  Speaker 1: Magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, Where is
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  Speaker 1: he who has been born king of the Jews? For
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  Speaker 1: we saw his star in the east and have come
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  Speaker 1: to worship him. When Herod the king heard it, he
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  Speaker 1: was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And gathering together
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  Speaker 1: all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he
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  Speaker 1: began to inquire of them where the Christ was to
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  Speaker 1: be born. I want to speak to you this morning
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  Speaker 1: on the theme, The Power of Christmas Truth. I would
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  Speaker 1: pray that somehow, Even in our society, there would be
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  Speaker 1: nothing that would distract us from the awesomeness of Christmas,
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  Speaker 1: although such a prayer, I admit, I find almost wishful thinking.
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  Speaker 1: Christmas has become so complex, so chaotic, so confusing with
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  Speaker 1: all the stuff around. that the reality of the simplicity
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  Speaker 1: of the birth of Christ has been blended into the
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  Speaker 1: fantasy and lost its significance. Christmas should be simple, not complex,
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  Speaker 1: very simple. Christmas should be stripped of all of its
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  Speaker 1: trappings so that all that is left is the simplicity
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  Speaker 1: of God becoming man. That is the only element in
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  Speaker 1: the Christmas seasonal celebration that has in it any lasting
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  Speaker 1: power to effect life. There is no real strength, no
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  Speaker 1: real peace or comfort or hope or love or promise
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  Speaker 1: or confidence for the future to be found in Santa Claus.
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  Speaker 1: There's no lasting value in any earthly gift or any
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  Speaker 1: earthly sentiment expressed. The tree always dies metaphorically unless it
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  Speaker 1: never lived because it was fake to begin with. No
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  Speaker 1: package and no party can really sustain a flickering life.
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  Speaker 1: No bright lights can lift up the downcast soul to
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  Speaker 1: a higher spiritual level. There is no power in Santa Claus.
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  Speaker 1: There is no power in a tree. There's no power
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  Speaker 1: in fellowship, and there's no power in lights, sentiments. And
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  Speaker 1: when you are desperate, you need power. In the hour
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  Speaker 1: of need, all Christmas has to offer is Jesus Christ,
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  Speaker 1: and He is utterly sufficient Only he can fill the
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  Speaker 1: heart with hope in the time of doubt. Only he
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  Speaker 1: can fill the heart with lasting joy in the time
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  Speaker 1: of sadness. Only he can fill the heart with peace
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  Speaker 1: in a time of fear. When life reaches its moment
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  Speaker 1: of desperation, the only hope is Christ. But what is it?
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  Speaker 1: about Christ that gives this hope? What is it about
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  Speaker 1: Christ that gives this joy and deep sadness? What is
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  Speaker 1: it about Christ that provides comfort in loneliness? What is
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  Speaker 1: it about Christ that gives peace in fear? One simple
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  Speaker 1: look at the birth of the Son of God should
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  Speaker 1: tell us the answer to that question. And if I might,
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  Speaker 1: May I draw you back to our passage in Matthew
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  Speaker 1: 1 and 2 and point you to four titles given
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  Speaker 1: to Christ, each of which gives us insight into why
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  Speaker 1: He was so sufficient for us and the only real
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  Speaker 1: power in Christmas. The four titles, verse 21, He is
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  Speaker 1: called Jesus. Verse 23. He is called Emmanuel. Verse 2.
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  Speaker 1: He is called King. Verse 4. He is called Christ.
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  Speaker 1: All of those titles for that one little child. Jesus, Emmanuel, King, Christ. Jesus, Emmanuel, King, Christ.
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  Speaker 1: These titles will tell us how the child of Christmas
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  Speaker 1: has the power to restore the fainting heart. First of all,
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  Speaker 1: let's consider the name Jesus. Verse 21. And she will
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  Speaker 1: bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. Why?
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  Speaker 1: Because it is he who will save his people from
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  Speaker 1: their sins. Jesus, He gives salvation to His people. He
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  Speaker 1: saves them from their sins. Down in verse 25, when
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  Speaker 1: He was born, it says that Joseph called His name
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  Speaker 1: Jesus in obedience to the divine command. The name Jesus,
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  Speaker 1: by the way, is the sweetest name the Savior knows,
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  Speaker 1: at least from an earthly viewpoint. It is used over
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  Speaker 1: 700 times in the New Testament. It is a form
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  Speaker 1: of the Hebrew word Yeshua, Joshua, Jeshua, Jehoshua. It means
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  Speaker 1: Yahweh or God will save. Luke 2.11 says He would
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  Speaker 1: be born a Savior. Mark 10.45 says the Son of
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  Speaker 1: Man has come to save. Luke 19.10, He has come
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  Speaker 1: to save. He shall save His people from their sins.
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  Speaker 1: That is a glorious reality. The Apostle Paul writing in
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  Speaker 1: Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 7 says, In Him we
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  Speaker 1: have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses.
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  Speaker 1: Now the implication here is that men are sinners. And
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  Speaker 1: that sin is a damning reality from which man needs
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  Speaker 1: to be saved or delivered or rescued. And Jesus came
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  Speaker 1: into the world to save you from your sins. In
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  Speaker 1: what sense? To save you from the ultimate consequence of
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  Speaker 1: your sins, namely eternal damnation. to save you as well
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  Speaker 1: from even the present domination of your sin. But primarily
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  Speaker 1: and ultimately, He came to save you in the sense
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  Speaker 1: that He delivers you and He delivers me and He
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  Speaker 1: delivers all who believe in Him from the ultimate damnation
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  Speaker 1: that sin requires. You might say, and I think fairly so,
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  Speaker 1: that forgiveness of sins is the primary result of salvation
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  Speaker 1: as presented in both the Old and the New Testament.
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  Speaker 1: Salvation is by definition a rescuing from the consequence of sin.
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  Speaker 1: At the Last Supper, as Jesus gathered with His disciples
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  Speaker 1: the night before He was to be taken prisoner and
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  Speaker 1: then crucified, it says He took the cup And He
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  Speaker 1: said regarding that cup, that that cup was representative of
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  Speaker 1: the blood of the covenant, His own blood, which is
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  Speaker 1: poured out, He said, Matthew 26, 28, for the forgiveness
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  Speaker 1: of sins. In Acts 13, 38, and 39, the Scripture says,
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  Speaker 1: through Him, that is Jesus, forgiveness of sins is proclaimed
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  Speaker 1: to you, and through Him everyone who believes is freed
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  Speaker 1: from all things. You see, He was a child born
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  Speaker 1: to provide forgiveness for sins. Israel's great holy day is
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  Speaker 1: a day called Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. The
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  Speaker 1: ancient Jews celebrated that one day in which a great
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  Speaker 1: offering was given for all the sins of all the
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  Speaker 1: people through the previous year. And on that day, according
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  Speaker 1: to Leviticus chapter 16, the high priest would select two goats,
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  Speaker 1: two sacrificial goats. One of those goats was killed, slaughtered,
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  Speaker 1: and his blood was splattered all over the altar as
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  Speaker 1: a sacrifice for sin, as a symbol of the need
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  Speaker 1: for death with regard to sin. But the other animal
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  Speaker 1: was not killed. The high priest would go to the
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  Speaker 1: other goat and put his hands on that goat, symbolically
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  Speaker 1: transferring the sins of all the people onto that goat,
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  Speaker 1: and then that goat was taken into the wilderness so
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  Speaker 1: far away that it could never find its way back
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  Speaker 1: or be seen again. Symbolically, God ordained that simple and
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  Speaker 1: graphic ceremony to show that where there was a sacrifice
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  Speaker 1: for sins, there was a removal of sin so that
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  Speaker 1: they would never, ever be brought to attention again. Now
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  Speaker 1: that goat that was slaughtered couldn't really pay the price.
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  Speaker 1: It could only symbolize the one who could. And that
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  Speaker 1: goat that carried sin out into the wilderness symbolically couldn't
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  Speaker 1: really carry away sin, but it symbolized the one who could.
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  Speaker 1: And it didn't take two, it only took one, Jesus,
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  Speaker 1: who both gave the sacrifice for sin and carried our
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  Speaker 1: sins away. In fact, the word to forgive, ephemi, means
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  Speaker 1: to send away, to dismiss. It is used in legal
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  Speaker 1: terminology to refer to canceling a debt or granting a pardon. So,
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  Speaker 1: Through His death on the cross, Jesus took the sins
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  Speaker 1: of all of us on Himself and died our death
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  Speaker 1: as a blood sacrifice for our sins and then carried
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  Speaker 1: them away an infinite distance from where they will never
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  Speaker 1: return again. The Bible speaks of this. In Psalm 103, 12,
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  Speaker 1: it says, as far as the east is from the west,
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  Speaker 1: so far has he removed our transgression from us. How
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  Speaker 1: far is the east from the west? That's infinite. That's
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  Speaker 1: a Jewish expression for infinity. Isaiah 44, 22 says, I
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  Speaker 1: have wiped out your transgressions like a thick cloud and
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  Speaker 1: your sins like a heavy mist. I can no longer
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  Speaker 1: see your sins any more than you can see a
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  Speaker 1: mountain in a dense fog, blotted out. And Micah the
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  Speaker 1: great prophet in chapter 7 says, Who is a pardoning
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  Speaker 1: God like you, who passes by our transgressions and who
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  Speaker 1: buries them in the depths of the sea? oh my,
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  Speaker 1: are we hearing this great truth? This was a child
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  Speaker 1: born to take away sin, to pay the price for
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  Speaker 1: our sin so we don't have to pay that price.
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  Speaker 1: That is why Paul says, there is therefore now no
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  Speaker 1: condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, Romans 8
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  Speaker 1: and 1. No judgment to us. Why? Because the judgment
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  Speaker 1: fell on Christ. He will save His people from their sins.
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  Speaker 1: And He has done that. He paid the price. He
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  Speaker 1: died the death that we would have had to die.
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  Speaker 1: And He carried our sins so far away, even God
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  Speaker 1: will never again consider their existence. 1 John 2.12, John writes,
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  Speaker 1: I'm writing to you, little children. because your sins are
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  Speaker 1: forgiven for His name's sake. Just because of who He is,
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  Speaker 1: just for His own purpose, just for His own glory,
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  Speaker 1: He forgave all your sins. What a blessed reality that
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  Speaker 1: Jesus Christ came into the world to forgive sin. Doesn't
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  Speaker 1: mean that we don't commit sin, we do. It doesn't
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  Speaker 1: mean that sin won't have harmful effects in this life.
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  Speaker 1: It does. What it does mean is we will never
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  Speaker 1: pay the ultimate penalty for sin. It's been paid. We
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  Speaker 1: will never die eternally. We will never spend a moment
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  Speaker 1: in hell. We will go from this life into heaven. Listen,
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  Speaker 1: no matter what deprivation a man or a woman might experience,
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  Speaker 1: no matter how lonely your life might be, no matter
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  Speaker 1: how sad it might be, no matter how painful your situation,
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  Speaker 1: no matter how bleak the Christmas season, no matter what
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  Speaker 1: dungeon or prison cell you might find yourself in, no
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  Speaker 1: matter how strong your fears and how terrifying the prospects
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  Speaker 1: of the future to you might be, if you have
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  Speaker 1: a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, you can see through
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  Speaker 1: to the one who has forgiven all your sins. And
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  Speaker 1: in that, there is fullness of joy. You do not
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  Speaker 1: need to fear that your difficulty is God's way of
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  Speaker 1: making you offer full atonement for your own iniquity. Not so. You,
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  Speaker 1: no matter what goes wrong in this life, no matter
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  Speaker 1: what is not the way you would like it, no
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  Speaker 1: matter how much unfulfillment you face, know this, you have
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  Speaker 1: complete and perfect forgiveness for all your sins through Jesus
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  Speaker 1: Christ if you place your faith in Him and you
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  Speaker 1: will never pay for your sins. Christ has done that.
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  Speaker 1: Christ has done that. Second title given to the child
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  Speaker 1: of Christmas comes in verse 23. This is one of
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  Speaker 1: the great, great titles that He bears. Behold, the virgin
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  Speaker 1: shall be with child and shall bear a son, and
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  Speaker 1: they shall call His name Immanuel, which translated means God
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  Speaker 1: with us. He is not only Jesus, He is Immanuel.
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  Speaker 1: And to see that at this time of year is
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  Speaker 1: to see a great reality. By the way, verse 23
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  Speaker 1: is a quote from the Old Testament. It is taken
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  Speaker 1: from Isaiah chapter 7 and verse 14. Here the angel
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  Speaker 1: of the Lord speaking to Joseph quotes Isaiah 7, 14.
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  Speaker 1: Let me tell you a little bit of background about
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  Speaker 1: that because you might wonder as you study the Bible,
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  Speaker 1: why do you read along and all of a sudden, boom,
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  Speaker 1: here's a prophecy about Messiah. Well, let me just give
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  Speaker 1: you a little bit of the background. The scene in
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  Speaker 1: Isaiah chapter 7 is during the reign of King Ahaz
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  Speaker 1: in Judah. You remember that after Solomon's life, the kingdom
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  Speaker 1: was split, Israel in the north, ten tribes, Judah in
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  Speaker 1: the south with just Judah and the tribe of Benjamin.
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  Speaker 1: The northern kingdom was apostate. The southern kingdom at times
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  Speaker 1: was true to Jehovah God. It is in the southern
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  Speaker 1: kingdom that Isaiah is prophesying. It is in the southern
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  Speaker 1: kingdom that Ahaz is king. Ahaz, by the way, is
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  Speaker 1: the son of one of the great kings, Uzziah. But Ahaz,
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  Speaker 1: though son of the great Uzziah, filled Jerusalem with idols.
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  Speaker 1: He reinstated the worship of the pagan god Molech, which required,
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  Speaker 1: by the way, sacrificial burning of babies. and he burned
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  Speaker 1: his own baby on the altar to Molech. He was
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  Speaker 1: so wicked and so evil that even wicked kings around
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  Speaker 1: him were upset at what he was doing. Two of them,
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  Speaker 1: a man named Rizin, who was king of Syria, and
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  Speaker 1: a man named Pekah, who was ruling over the area
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  Speaker 1: of Israel. that territory, decided to get rid of Ahaz.
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  Speaker 1: So these two kings, Rezan and Pekah, were going to
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  Speaker 1: move against Ahaz to get him out. In the face
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  Speaker 1: of such a threat, he decided to strengthen his hand,
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  Speaker 1: not by turning to God to preserve the Davidic line
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  Speaker 1: and preserve the people, but he decided to turn to
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  Speaker 1: the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser, feeling that if he made an
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  Speaker 1: alliance with this great Assyrian monarch, Rezan and Pekah would
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  Speaker 1: think a long time before they would attack him because
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  Speaker 1: of the formidable nature of this man and his powerful army.
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  Speaker 1: In fact, he was so adamant about it that he
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  Speaker 1: went and plundered the temple, stole all the gold and silver,
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  Speaker 1: and gave it to Tiglath-Pileser to buy him and buy
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  Speaker 1: his allegiance. It was precisely at that time that God said, Isaiah,
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  Speaker 1: you need to go have a talk with Ahaz. And
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  Speaker 1: so God sent Isaiah to Ahaz to confront him, to
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  Speaker 1: tell him not to trust the Assyrians, but trust God,
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  Speaker 1: the living God. In spite of all of his evil,
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  Speaker 1: he said, God will preserve you people and God will
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  Speaker 1: preserve the Davidic line. He will deliver you from those
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  Speaker 1: two kings. You don't need this alliance with the Assyrian.
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  Speaker 1: Ahaz refused to listen. And it's at that juncture that
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  Speaker 1: the prophet said this. Behold, the virgin shall be with
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  Speaker 1: child and shall bear a son and they shall call
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  Speaker 1: his name Emmanuel. What's he saying? How does this fit?
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  Speaker 1: He's saying, look. God is saying to you, no one
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  Speaker 1: will be allowed to destroy the people of God, and
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  Speaker 1: no one will be allowed to destroy David's royal line.
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  Speaker 1: The virgin shall be with child, shall bear a son,
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  Speaker 1: shall call his name Emmanuel. This thing is going to
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  Speaker 1: go off the way it was planned. That's what he's saying.
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  Speaker 1: Even if the armies of reason and pica come against you,
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  Speaker 1: The virgin-born Son of God who is Emmanuel will come.
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  Speaker 1: Now what does that mean? Listen carefully to this. What
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  Speaker 1: Isaiah is saying to him is God has promised not
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  Speaker 1: to forsake His people. That's what he's saying. You don't
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  Speaker 1: have to fear these two petty kings. God won't forsake you.
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  Speaker 1: In fact, when the Messiah comes, it will be God
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  Speaker 1: with us. God not only will not forsake you, He
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  Speaker 1: will come among you. That's the point. That's the point.
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  Speaker 1: Just trust Him. He won't forsake you. Don't you know
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  Speaker 1: His promises to come and dwell among you? What does
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  Speaker 1: Emmanuel mean? It means God lives among us. It means
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  Speaker 1: God became a man. God will be present with His people.
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  Speaker 1: The child of Christmas is Emmanuel, God with us. That
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  Speaker 1: child that was born that day, though fully human, was
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  Speaker 1: also fully God. In the Old Testament, the presence of
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  Speaker 1: God was in the tabernacle. The presence of God was
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  Speaker 1: in the temple. And now, in the New Testament, the
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  Speaker 1: presence of God is in a body. in the person
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  Speaker 1: of Christ, God with us. That's a Christmas truth. And
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  Speaker 1: like the term Jesus, Emmanuel is a powerful Christmas truth.
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  Speaker 1: What does it mean? Listen to what it means when
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  Speaker 1: you extrapolate its significance. Listen to Hebrews 2, verse 14.
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  Speaker 1: Since then the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself,
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  Speaker 1: that is Christ the Lord, also partook of the same.
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  Speaker 1: We have flesh and blood, so He took flesh and blood.
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  Speaker 1: We share, we koinonia, in the same common physical elements.
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  Speaker 1: And He partook. He took them on. By the way,
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  Speaker 1: that word mateko usually has to do with something that
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  Speaker 1: someone has which is not theirs naturally. We are by
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  Speaker 1: nature flesh and blood. Emmanuel was not, but he became
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  Speaker 1: flesh and blood. He added to himself our nature to
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  Speaker 1: die our death, to save us from our sins. But
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  Speaker 1: there's more. Look at verse 17 of Hebrews 2. He
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  Speaker 1: had to be made like his brother in all things.
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  Speaker 1: He had to be fully human in every sense in
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  Speaker 1: order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest.
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  Speaker 1: So what do you mean? A priest is someone who
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  Speaker 1: intercedes for you, someone who goes to God for you.
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  Speaker 1: How can he go to God for us and plead
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  Speaker 1: our case and ask God to help us if he
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  Speaker 1: doesn't understand us? So a priest was always chosen from
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  Speaker 1: among men because he could then pray for the needs
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  Speaker 1: of men because He knew what they were. Jesus became
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  Speaker 1: one of us in order that He might rightly represent
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  Speaker 1: us as our faithful high priest before God. And verse
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  Speaker 1: 18 says, He Himself was tempted in that which He suffered,
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  Speaker 1: and so He is able to come to the aid
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  Speaker 1: of those who are tempted. He knew temptation. He knew testing.
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  Speaker 1: He knew suffering. Chapter 4, verse 15 says, he was
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  Speaker 1: tempted in all things like we are, but without sin.
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  Speaker 1: He never sinned, but he still knew all the temptations.
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  Speaker 1: All the temptations. Say, what is this saying to us? Listen,
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  Speaker 1: at Christmas, when you see the child, see who he is. Emmanuel,
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  Speaker 1: God with us. He was hungry. He was thirsty. He
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  Speaker 1: was tired. He slept. He learned. He was glad. He
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: was sad. He was angry. He was indignant. He was grieved.
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: He was troubled. He was disappointed. He was tearful. He
• 25:06
  Speaker 1: was overcome by the prospect of future events. He exercised faith.
• 25:10
  Speaker 1: He read the Scripture. He prayed. He sighed with an
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: aching heart. He felt everything. You say your life is
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: in danger. His was always in danger. You say you've
• 25:19
  Speaker 1: been mistreated and misjudged. So was he. No, this is
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: not a cosmic God who is utterly indifferent. He knows
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: our hurts and He knows our weaknesses. And He's not
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: only the Christ of salvation, but He's the Christ of sympathy.
• 25:36
  Speaker 1: This is a Christmas perspective. The child born that day
• 25:40
  Speaker 1: was God with us to feel what we feel, to
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: experience what we experience, to be tempted and tested as
• 25:47
  Speaker 1: we are tempted and tested in order that He might
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: sympathize with us on the one hand, in order that
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: He might aid us on the other hand. It's not
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: just to sympathize, it's also to aid us. Yes, we
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: cast our care on Him because He cares for us,
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: but it says here, In Hebrews 2, 18, He is
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: able to come to the aid of those who are tested.
• 26:11
  Speaker 1: God with us. What does it mean to come to
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: our aid? What does He do? I'll tell you what
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: He does. He gives you the courage to face your cares.
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: He gives you the wisdom to understand your cares. He
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: gives you the strength to endure your cares. And He
• 26:25
  Speaker 1: gives you the faith to trust Him for the rest.
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: No tree is going to give you that. No Christmas card.
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: No Santa Claus. No person. Just Emmanuel. God with us,
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: not only to understand us, but help us. If all
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: we needed was understanding, we could ask another man. We
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: need more. We need help. He gives us supernatural help. Jesus,
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: for He saves us from our sins. Emmanuel, for He's
• 26:56
  Speaker 1: God with us to help us in our struggle. Third title.
• 27:06
  Speaker 1: When the wise men arrived and confronted Herod, verse 2
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: of chapter 2, they said, where is he who has
• 27:14
  Speaker 1: been born king of the Jews? Here he is introduced
• 27:19
  Speaker 1: as king. He came not only to save his people
• 27:22
  Speaker 1: from their sins. He came not only to sympathize and
• 27:25
  Speaker 1: succor and help his people, but he came to rule
• 27:27
  Speaker 1: the world. He came to rule the world. Down in
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: verse 6, it says he will be a ruler of
• 27:36
  Speaker 1: a ruler. It is now many months after the birth
• 27:40
  Speaker 1: of Christ when the wise men arrive. Chapter 2 verse
• 27:43
  Speaker 1: 11 says the family is in a house by now,
• 27:47
  Speaker 1: and the wise men have come on a long journey.
• 27:49
  Speaker 1: They go to King Herod to find out about this
• 27:51
  Speaker 1: other king, and of course King Herod is paranoid. King
• 27:56
  Speaker 1: Herod is a maniac of the worst order. King Herod
• 28:01
  Speaker 1: isn't even a king, and that's why he was so nervous.
• 28:03
  Speaker 1: He was an Idumean who was put into that position
• 28:05
  Speaker 1: by the Romans. He was a political king. He'd been
• 28:08
  Speaker 1: in a long time by now, but he was paranoid
• 28:11
  Speaker 1: about losing his position. So paranoid was he that if
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: he didn't like somebody, he got rid of them. If
• 28:17
  Speaker 1: he felt them threatening him, he killed them. He drowned
• 28:20
  Speaker 1: the high priest, for one. He murdered his wife. He
• 28:22
  Speaker 1: murdered his wife's mother, and he murdered three of his
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: sons because he thought they were all threatening to his throne.
• 28:29
  Speaker 1: And then he went through the city of Jerusalem, found
• 28:31
  Speaker 1: all the most distinguished citizens in the whole population and
• 28:34
  Speaker 1: said to his soldiers, put them all in prison and
• 28:36
  Speaker 1: keep them in prison. And the minute I die, execute
• 28:40
  Speaker 1: all of them. And when asked why, he said, because
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: no one will mourn when I die. And when I die,
• 28:44
  Speaker 1: I want mourning in Jerusalem. And if they won't mourn
• 28:48
  Speaker 1: for me, they'll mourn for them. Then when he heard
• 28:54
  Speaker 1: there was a little baby king born, he set out
• 28:56
  Speaker 1: to murder all the male children under two years of age.
• 28:59
  Speaker 1: and massacred babies all over. He was paranoid. He was
• 29:06
  Speaker 1: a maniac. He wasn't even a true king. And set
• 29:10
  Speaker 1: against that fake king who wasn't a king, who didn't
• 29:13
  Speaker 1: come from a royal line, and who wasn't even a Jew,
• 29:16
  Speaker 1: is the true king of the Jews. Jesus. Where is
• 29:22
  Speaker 1: He who has been born King of the Jews? There's
• 29:30
  Speaker 1: something to focus on when you look into the Christmas scene. Jesus, Savior. Emmanuel,
• 29:37
  Speaker 1: sympathetic high priest. King, ruler, monarch, sovereign. That child was
• 29:49
  Speaker 1: born a king. The wise men brought fitting gifts for
• 29:53
  Speaker 1: a king, gold, frankincense, and myrrh. He was a king,
• 29:58
  Speaker 1: not a very auspicious beginning for a king, not for
• 30:02
  Speaker 1: the king, the king of kings and Lord of lords.
• 30:05
  Speaker 1: And even through his life, it didn't appear that he
• 30:07
  Speaker 1: was the kind of king that they wanted him to be.
• 30:10
  Speaker 1: And even the disciples were wondering, when is he going
• 30:13
  Speaker 1: to take his kingdom? When is he going to assert himself?
• 30:16
  Speaker 1: And Pilate confronted him and said, are you a king?
• 30:19
  Speaker 1: And he said, yes, I'm a king. But he said,
• 30:22
  Speaker 1: my kingdom is not of this world. If it were
• 30:24
  Speaker 1: of this world, my servants would fight. He said, I'm
• 30:28
  Speaker 1: a king, but my kingdom is a spiritual kingdom. But
• 30:32
  Speaker 1: he also demonstrated in his transfiguration that someday his spiritual
• 30:38
  Speaker 1: kingdom would come to earth in the great future millennium
• 30:44
  Speaker 1: when Christ reigns on the earth. Yes, he was a king.
• 30:50
  Speaker 1: Not just a king like other kings, but a king
• 30:52
  Speaker 1: unlike any other king. A king over all kings. In fact,
• 30:57
  Speaker 1: in Psalm 2, the Father said to the Son, This
• 31:00
  Speaker 1: day have I begotten thee, and I have given thee
• 31:02
  Speaker 1: the nations of the world as thine inheritance, and thou
• 31:05
  Speaker 1: shalt rule them with a rod of iron. In the
• 31:11
  Speaker 1: book of Revelation, we look to the future. And as
• 31:15
  Speaker 1: we look to the future, we see Jesus, already the
• 31:18
  Speaker 1: spiritual King of kings, begin to take His earthly throne.
• 31:24
  Speaker 1: It tells us, In Revelation chapter 11 and verse 15,
• 31:29
  Speaker 1: as we look ahead, and the seventh angel sounded, and
• 31:32
  Speaker 1: there arose loud voices in heaven saying, the kingdom of
• 31:37
  Speaker 1: this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and
• 31:41
  Speaker 1: of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever.
• 31:49
  Speaker 1: Chapter 12, verse 5 says, and she gave birth to
• 31:54
  Speaker 1: a son. a male child who is to rule all
• 31:59
  Speaker 1: the nations with a rod of iron. And we see
• 32:06
  Speaker 1: him as he comes to his kingdom in Revelation 19.
• 32:09
  Speaker 1: Heaven opens up. He comes on a white horse. His
• 32:15
  Speaker 1: name is faithful and true. Verse 11, And in righteousness
• 32:19
  Speaker 1: He judges and wages war, and His eyes are a
• 32:21
  Speaker 1: flame of fire, and upon His head are many diadems.
• 32:24
  Speaker 1: And He has a name written upon Him which no
• 32:26
  Speaker 1: one knows except Himself. And He is clothed with a
• 32:29
  Speaker 1: robe dipped in blood, and His name is called the
• 32:31
  Speaker 1: Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven
• 32:34
  Speaker 1: clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him
• 32:36
  Speaker 1: on white horses. And from His mouth comes a sharp sword,
• 32:39
  Speaker 1: so that with it He may smite the nations, and
• 32:42
  Speaker 1: He will rule them with a rod of iron. And
• 32:44
  Speaker 1: He treads the winepress of the fierce wrath of God Almighty.
• 32:48
  Speaker 1: And on His robe and on His thigh He has
• 32:49
  Speaker 1: a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.
• 32:54
  Speaker 1: He will come. He will come, and I believe He
• 32:58
  Speaker 1: will come soon. He will come as the equalizer. He
• 33:01
  Speaker 1: will come as the avenger. He will come as the king.
• 33:05
  Speaker 1: The puny, petty, little monarchs of this world who raise
• 33:10
  Speaker 1: their fists in an assumed pseudo-sovereignty as if they ruled
• 33:14
  Speaker 1: anything will learn who really rules. Like Nebuchadnezzar who thought
• 33:19
  Speaker 1: he had made his own kingdom and wound up eating
• 33:22
  Speaker 1: grass in insanity. because he thought he could take the
• 33:27
  Speaker 1: glory of the true king, all the monarchs of this
• 33:31
  Speaker 1: world will bow their knee to Jesus Christ when he
• 33:35
  Speaker 1: comes in his kingly glory. He is king in the
• 33:38
  Speaker 1: spiritual kingdom. He will be king over the world and
• 33:42
  Speaker 1: the universe in the future. And as you look at
• 33:47
  Speaker 1: that little babe in the manger, that is the Christmas reality.
• 33:53
  Speaker 1: What a child. Jesus, He saves His people from their sins. Emmanuel,
• 33:58
  Speaker 1: He is God with us, sympathetic high priest able to
• 34:01
  Speaker 1: understand and to aid us. King who rules a spiritual
• 34:06
  Speaker 1: kingdom which will someday come to His people and at
• 34:12
  Speaker 1: which point He will rule the world. Finally, verse 4
• 34:21
  Speaker 1: gives us one more very familiar passage It says that
• 34:28
  Speaker 1: he began to inquire of them where the Christ was
• 34:31
  Speaker 1: to be born. The Christ is just a term that
• 34:35
  Speaker 1: means the Messiah, the anointed. Messiah, Christ, same thing. One
• 34:43
  Speaker 1: from Hebrew, one from Greek means the anointed one, God's
• 34:47
  Speaker 1: special anointed one. and it reflects His right to rule,
• 34:51
  Speaker 1: His right to have authority and sovereignty as the promised
• 34:56
  Speaker 1: Messiah of God. There's so much in that term that
• 35:00
  Speaker 1: we can't focus on at all, but let me just
• 35:02
  Speaker 1: capture one element that I believe is inherent in that.
• 35:07
  Speaker 1: When you have the great prophecy of Isaiah chapter 9
• 35:10
  Speaker 1: introducing the coming Messiah, it says that there will be
• 35:16
  Speaker 1: a child, a son, And He will be Wonderful Counselor,
• 35:22
  Speaker 1: the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, or the Father of Eternity,
• 35:28
  Speaker 1: or the Eternal Father. You could translate it a number
• 35:31
  Speaker 1: of ways. The Messiah is the Eternal One. And He
• 35:37
  Speaker 1: is the Eternal Father in the sense that He is
• 35:40
  Speaker 1: the Eternal Generator of life. He is the Life-Giver. And
• 35:50
  Speaker 1: that is certainly the intent of John 1. In Him
• 35:55
  Speaker 1: was what? Life. All things were made by Him, and
• 36:00
  Speaker 1: without Him was not anything made that was made. When
• 36:05
  Speaker 1: you see the word Christ, think of Him in this way,
• 36:08
  Speaker 1: as the generator of life, the giver of life, the
• 36:12
  Speaker 1: originator of life, the creator of life, the giver of life.
• 36:19
  Speaker 1: For God so loved the world that He gave His
• 36:20
  Speaker 1: only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not
• 36:23
  Speaker 1: perish but have everlasting life. I am come that you
• 36:28
  Speaker 1: might have what? Life. I am, John 11, 25 and
• 36:31
  Speaker 1: 26 says, I am the resurrection and the life. He
• 36:38
  Speaker 1: that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall
• 36:41
  Speaker 1: he live. And he that liveth and believeth in me
• 36:42
  Speaker 1: shall never die. Do you believe this? John 14, 6,
• 36:46
  Speaker 1: I am the way, the truth, and the life. John 14, 19,
• 36:49
  Speaker 1: because I live, you shall live also. Peter says, you
• 36:54
  Speaker 1: have put to death the prince of life, the one
• 36:58
  Speaker 1: whom God raised from the dead. And therein was the
• 37:02
  Speaker 1: essence of his life demonstrating. He gave his demonstration that
• 37:08
  Speaker 1: he was in charge of life. How? By rising from
• 37:11
  Speaker 1: the dead. So when Peter calls him the prince of life,
• 37:15
  Speaker 1: he identifies him as the giver of life. By the way,
• 37:18
  Speaker 1: the word prince is archegos, which means beginner, initiator, author,
• 37:24
  Speaker 1: my favorite, originator. So when you think about this child,
• 37:30
  Speaker 1: think of him as the originator of life. When you
• 37:32
  Speaker 1: think about the cross, think about the unbelievable conundrum, the
• 37:36
  Speaker 1: hopeless paradox, that they actually took the life of the
• 37:40
  Speaker 1: giver of life. And if, spiritually speaking, you take the
• 37:44
  Speaker 1: life of the giver of life, you will never be
• 37:46
  Speaker 1: able to receive life. Jesus Emmanuel King is the one
• 37:52
  Speaker 1: who gives life, sustains life. He is the one... of
• 37:57
  Speaker 1: whom it is said in Psalm 36, 9, for with
• 38:00
  Speaker 1: thee is the fountain of life. You who were dead
• 38:06
  Speaker 1: in trespasses and sin has he made alive together with Christ.
• 38:12
  Speaker 1: And so I say to you, friends, that
• 38:36
  Speaker 1: His name is
• 38:39
  Speaker 1: not Jesus, Emmanuel, King, Christ, because He's our example. His
• 38:43
  Speaker 1: name is not Jesus, Emmanuel, King, Christ, because He's our teacher.
• 38:48
  Speaker 1: His name is not Jesus, Emmanuel, King, Christ, because He's
• 38:51
  Speaker 1: our guide. His name is not Jesus, Emmanuel, King, Christ,
• 38:54
  Speaker 1: because He's our friend. He is all of that. But
• 38:58
  Speaker 1: His name is Jesus because He saves us from our sins.
• 39:01
  Speaker 1: His name is Emmanuel because He is our sympathizing strengthener.
• 39:05
  Speaker 1: He is God with us. His name is King because
• 39:08
  Speaker 1: He's our sovereign and the sovereign of the universe. And
• 39:11
  Speaker 1: His name is Christ because He is the source of
• 39:15
  Speaker 1: our life. And when you know all that, and when
• 39:19
  Speaker 1: you believe all that, and when you confess all that,
• 39:25
  Speaker 1: then you have seen through the trappings to the simplicity
• 39:31
  Speaker 1: of the birth of Christ. That'll make your Christmas significant,
• 39:39
  Speaker 1: really significant. If you'll do what Hebrews 12, 2 says,
• 39:43
  Speaker 1: fix your eyes on Christ. Jesus King, Jesus Christ, Jesus Emmanuel.
• 40:00
  Speaker 1: It ought to make it the greatest Christmas for you too.
• 40:03
  Speaker 1: Let's pray. Father, we express to you our worship at
• 40:10
  Speaker 1: this moment as we bring this service to a conclusion.
• 40:19
  Speaker 1: thanking you for the gift of Jesus Christ. Lord, help
• 40:30
  Speaker 1: us who are free and unbound, who have spouse and
• 40:38
  Speaker 1: children and home and friends and all the good things
• 40:42
  Speaker 1: of life, not to squander our attention on those things,
• 40:53
  Speaker 1: and miss those contemplative, worshipful moments of focusing on You,
• 41:00
  Speaker 1: fixing our eyes on Jesus and all that He is.
• 41:10
  Speaker 1: Make this the most significant Christmas for all of us,
• 41:16
  Speaker 1: and for those who are here today for whom Jesus
• 41:21
  Speaker 1: is not the Savior of their sins, who has not
• 41:27
  Speaker 1: delivered them from death, who has not forgiven them because
• 41:31
  Speaker 1: they have never come in repentance, may this be the
• 41:34
  Speaker 1: day that they turn from their sin and fall on
• 41:38
  Speaker 1: the mercy of a forgiving Savior. And for those who
• 41:44
  Speaker 1: know nothing of the Emmanuel, who know not what it
• 41:48
  Speaker 1: is to have a sympathetic compassionate, strong high priest. May
• 41:57
  Speaker 1: this be the day that they embrace Jesus Christ and
• 42:00
  Speaker 1: find His sufficiency. And for those who are not a
• 42:04
  Speaker 1: part of His kingdom, who do not enjoy the bliss
• 42:08
  Speaker 1: of being ruled by His beneficent sovereignty, may this be
• 42:15
  Speaker 1: the day that they subject themselves to Him and enter
• 42:18
  Speaker 1: the kingdom. For those who have no life, may this
• 42:24
  Speaker 1: be the day that He gives them life. And may
• 42:31
  Speaker 1: we worship Jesus, Emmanuel, King, Christ, with all our hearts.
• 42:39
  Speaker 1: And may He be pleased with the gifts that we bring. Amen.
• 42:48
  Speaker 1: You've been listening to John MacArthur, Bible teacher with Grace
• 42:51
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• 42:54
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• 42:58
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• 43:04
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• 43:08
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• 43:13
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