And I'm going to get this headset on here, Brother Avery, if you can get it ready for me. And we're going to be looking at Matthew chapter 2. Matthew chapter 2. We'll begin reading in verse number one, down to verse 11, Matthew chapter two. Verse one, the Bible says, now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, where is he that is born, king of the Jews? For we have seen a star in the east, and are come to worship him. When Herod the king heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, in Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet, and thou, Bethlehem, in land of Judah, art not the least among the princes of Judah, for out of thee shall come a governor that shall rule my people, Israel. Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently at what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, Go and search diligently for the young child. And when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. When they had heard the king, they departed, and lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them. So it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. When they were coming to the house, they saw the young child with Mary, his mother, and fell down and worshiped him. When they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts, gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. Let's pray together this morning. Our Heavenly Father, as we open up your word and study your truth today, we ask that your Holy Spirit would just have your way in these moments. Lord, you fill me and anoint me as your speaker, as your vessel for this time. And Lord, would you work in the hearts of your dear people. Lord, would you feed us with manna from above. Give us what we need this morning. And we pray also, as the gospel is given, that you would do a work in hearts of sinners to convict them and to draw them to your grace. And so, Lord, give us the blessing we ask in Jesus' name. Amen. There's a lot that we can look at in these 11 verses, 12 verses here in Matthew chapter 2. But I want to draw your attention to verse number 3. The Bible says, when Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And I want to preach this morning on the trouble with Herod. The trouble with Herod. You know, this time of year, rightfully so, there's a lot of laughter, and joy, and celebrating, and time with friends and family, and as a church, And rightfully so, if we celebrate Jesus, we celebrate what Mark tells us in his gospel, the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I love that phrase, the beginning of the gospel. We rightly celebrate that. And the gospel, that word gospel means good news, good tidings. And so Christmastime, yes, rightfully so, should be a time of joy and celebration, but the reality is for many people, Christmas is not a time of joy. For many people, Christmas is a troublesome time. Yes, it's a fact that for many people, there's not all laughter and joy. Their hearts are troubled. There's many reasons why their hearts are troubled. Many of them are stressed out this time of year. You know, our modern American way we do Christmas, it makes people so stressed out. You gotta buy this. You gotta buy that. You gotta do this and do this and go here and all this stuff, all this hoopla. That's not about Christ. And people get so stressed out, they stretch themselves so thin because they're racking up the credit card debt, and their heart starts to... When the American Express bill comes, when the MasterCard bills come, that's gonna be their master. And so they're stressed out just thinking all the money is being spent. Some people are burned out. Some people are doing too much and they stretch themselves so thin. And it is fun. It's a blessing to celebrate. We have maybe family get-togethers and holiday office parties and different fellowships and different things. It's great. It's wonderful. But people get so burned out. And in all the busyness, they forget what they're even truly celebrating. The Lord Jesus Christ and his birth. Oh, for some people, it's a troublesome time. The laughter and joy around the holidays only puts a spotlight on something that's perhaps missing in their life. There's some people, it's not all laughter and joy for them this time of year. There's some people going through some serious trials and tribulations, and it can be a troubling time, the Christmas season. For some people, maybe the time spent with family, even though it should be joyous, can bring some pain. Because after we look around at the dinner table, see an empty chair where someone used to sit. We might see some family members that have gone on before us. And the holiday season oftentimes is a reminder of those that we miss that have gone on to happen. My family, we always long and we're so thankful that God gave us precious time with Pam's dad. The Lord saw fit to take him to heaven a few years ago. And the holiday season is a time where we reflect and we think about, I wonder what it would be like if dad were here. Wonder what it would be like if grandma or grandpa were here. And for many people, the holidays put a spotlight on that. And our hearts can be troubled. But I'm reminded of what our Lord Jesus Christ told the disciples and told us, let not your hearts be troubled. You see, when we make the focus on the Lord Jesus Christ, all the troubles, they go away in his presence. And it's exchanged for joy. And the problem with Herod we're gonna see this morning is that He was holding on to self, holding on to the things of this world. And so he would always be troubled. And those that would make their life only based on planet Earth, only based on what happens in the here and now, if that's the basis for your life, I have news for you, you are gonna be in trouble also. You're gonna have a troubled heart also. No, we ought to be as Christians looking unto Jesus, awaiting his glorious appearing. Let not your hearts be troubled. Many hearts are troubled in the midst of what should be a joyous occasion. And I want us to consider the example of Herod and Jerusalem this morning. First, who was Herod? Who was Herod the King, also known as Herod the Great? Herod was indeed a great ruler, some would say. He was a great builder and administrator in that time. In fact, right at this time where the Lord was being born, the temple was being rebuilt under his leadership. If you remember Jerusalem, the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed and left to nothing, it was desolate. And the people of Israel started returning back to Jerusalem after the captivity. And the Romans took over and they put Herod in charge. They put his family and dynasty in charge and said, hey, you lead these Israelites for us, we don't want to deal with them hands on. You deal with them. And so Herod and his family were ruling and Herod was a great builder, a great administrator. He was great in politics. But history tells us and the Bible tells us he was also great in cruelty. Herod was a very cruel leader. In fact, one of the first things he did when he came to power was he began killing everyone that would oppose him. Immediately he killed 300 officers and got rid of them so that they could not take his throne. He began to be suspicious of his own family, his own children, and history tells us he had four of his sons killed and executed. Even his oldest son, Antipater, was strangled to death. See, Herod was a great leader, but a very cruel man. He was very cruel, and the reality here for Herod is though he was wealthy, and though he had all this political power, and even though he knew how to, he was clever enough to schmooze the Roman emperors, he served under several Roman emperors. He was clever enough, shrewd enough to keep his power, to consolidate his power, Yet we see here he was a very troubled man. See, all the power in the world can't make you happy. All the money in the world can't make you happy. Just look at Herod. Many Jews despised Herod. They were afraid of Herod because he was such a wicked and cruel man. I mentioned he even killed his closest associates, his own family. He was a man who was obsessed with power. And it led Augustus, the Roman emperor, to even say this about Herod. He said, it was safer to be Herod's pig than Herod's son. Imagine that. So this was a very cruel man, a very wicked man. In fact, I read an article about a Jewish historian and a psychologist. They got together and they compared all the historical facts regarding Herod and they wanted to put together a psychological profile. And the psychologist said, this man has PPD. Paranoid personality disorder. Listen, whatever label you want to put on it, the Bible is very clear, he was troubled. He was troubled. Well, why was he troubled? Well, there was some troubling news that he received. He received some troubling news. Charles Spurgeon said this, a stir began as soon as Christ is born. He has not spoken a word. He has not wrought a miracle. He has not proclaimed a single doctrine. But when Jesus was born, at the very first, while as yet you hear nothing but infant cries and can see nothing but infant weakness, still his influence upon the world is manifest. When Jesus was born, there came wise men from the east and so on. There is infinite power even in an infant savior. All of this trouble, all of this vexation over an infant, over a baby that was born, The Bible says in Matthew 2 verse 3 that Herod was troubled. The word trouble means he was agitated, he was stirred up, he was shaken up, he was frustrated and bet because he heard about this special birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. See the wise men, when they came searching, when they arrived in Jerusalem, in verse 2 it says, where is he that is born King of the Jews? Where is he that is born King of the Jews? That's important because they weren't just looking for someone who was born. They were looking for a king who was born. That's significant. They weren't just looking for a baby. They were looking for someone who they recognized. He's a king. And when Herod heard that phrase, king of the Jews, he said, hey, that's supposed to be me. That's supposed to be my title. That's who I am. I'm the boss. I run things. What do you mean king of the Jews? And his PPD started to kick in. His paranoia started to take over and he's conniving and scheming and thinking, how can I remove this quote unquote king of the Jews, this usurper to a throne and a title that rightly belongs to me, the Roman Senate themselves. They gave me that title, king of the Jews. Who is this child that was born that should take my title from me? That's Herod. He was troubled, he was vexed. In fact, if we skip to Matthew chapter two, verse 16, then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men and was exceeding wrong, and sent forth and slew all the children that were born in Bethlehem, and all the coast thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. So we see abortion and infanticide is nothing new, by the way. And Herod here, because of his anger and his rage, he passes this decree that every Jewish boy that's born, two years and under to be killed. This is a man who's paranoid. A man who was indeed troubled. Again, over the birth of a baby, but over the birth of a king. And I want you to realize, why was he troubled? And when we look at why he was troubled, I believe there are a lot of people like Herod today. Oh yes. There are a lot of people that are just like Herod today. They will not allow anyone or anything to interfere with their ambitions. They will not allow anyone or anything to interfere with their lifestyle. To intrude themselves on what they think belongs to them. I can't tell you how many times I heard this statement. It's my life. The Bible is very clear. For Christians, it's not your life. The Bible says you've been bought with a price. You've been redeemed. You've been bought from the slave market of sin. And now you belong to Jesus. Yes. So many are like Herod and they will not have anyone rule over them or usurp any control or power over their lives. Their plans, their ambitions, they see Jesus as a threat to that. Yes, there are people today that they look at Jesus as a threat. to their control over their lives. You see, they're okay thinking about a baby in a manger. They don't mind that. They're okay maybe singing a couple hymns or maybe even coming to church on Sunday before Christmas. They'll do that. But don't ask me to submit my life to this king. Don't you dare. Don't you dare ask him to take control over my life, over my ambitions, over my plans. They will never have that. And they're like Herod, they begin to scheme, and connive, and plot, and how can I live my life and leave Jesus out of it? Without ever making Him king. Without ever giving Him the place He rightly deserves. You know, it's very sad. It's very sad when Christians have that kind of mentality. We know the world of unsaved people, that's where they live, but it's very sad when Christians who claim to be the children of God They would never say this, but practically speaking, they're atheists. The way they live their life, they leave God out of it. They enter a career field, they never pray about it, never ask Lord's will. They make a big move, they never consider, is this God's will for me? They make all these plans and go here and go there, and they never consider, what does God think? What does my king think? Because he has control. No, they're like Herod, they won't have anyone take their place of power And so there are many that are like Herod today. They don't mind a little baby in a manger, but they won't have some king rule over their lives. And Herod is a wretched tyrant here. We see that in Matthew chapter 2, and history tells us that. He's a wicked, wretched tyrant. But I believe he's a picture of our own flesh. He's a picture of our flesh that will not have anyone rule over it. Listen, if we're being honest, in my flesh and in your flesh, We don't want Jesus as king. Our flesh rebels against that thought. Our flesh detests the thought of someone else having control and authority over us. And we're living in troublesome times today. We're living in a day and age where people have rejected God, rejected the Bible, and are embracing sin. It's a very troublesome time we're living in, and we're seeing the fruit of that. So much immorality today. So much rebelliousness today. So much turmoil today. So much tension and agitation in our world today. Our government can't even decide to get along and be a government today. These are troublesome times. And all because we haven't crowned Jesus as King. You see, I want to show you this morning. When you don't crown Jesus as King, your life will never fit. The puzzle pieces will never fit together. You will always be just missing in, missing out. You know what will happen? You're going to be troubled. Just like Herod. You're going to be frustrated. You're going to be agitated. You're not going to be content. You're going to be discontented and longing for something more. That's what this life does. Until you make Jesus your King. So Herod wouldn't do that. Herod hated the idea that someone else could be King of the Jews. He's a picture of our flesh. He's a picture also of what the Bible calls the old man. Our old nature before we were saved. See, the Bible talks about the old man was a slave master. He was bossing us around. He would say, think that wrong thought, we'd just think it. He'd say, hey, go to this wrong place, we'd just go. Watch this wrong program, we'd just watch it. We were slaves to sin, the Bible says. We were in bondage to sin. But when we got saved, the Bible says, therefore may a man be in Christ. He is a new creature. Behold, all things have passed away, all things have become new. Now we have a new man, a new spirit. And so when that old slave master comes and says, hey, I want you to do this, we can say, hey, you're not my master anymore. You're not my king anymore. No, when you got saved, the day you trusted Christ, the day you turned from your sin and placed your faith in Jesus Christ alone, you exchanged masters. You exchange that old slave master that was keeping you in bondage for a new master, the Lord Jesus Christ who gives us freedom, liberty, grace. We serve a king, the Lord Jesus Christ. But Herod, he's a picture of that old slave master, that old sin nature that wants to just keep us in bondage, keep us in control, won't let go of power, but the true king, He doesn't come to give us trouble. The Bible says He comes with good tidings of great joy. Isn't that amazing? I love how we read that in Luke chapter 2. Good tidings of great joy. That's what King Jesus brings. That's what King Jesus does because He sets us free. So Herod was troubled ultimately because he was in trouble with God. That's why. He was troubled because he wasn't right with God. And he knew in his heart of hearts he's in big trouble with God. And this morning, maybe there's someone here, you know you're in trouble with God too. Maybe you're here this morning and you've never had your sins dealt with. You're here this morning, if you were to die right now, you'd split hell wide open. You know you're lost. You've never been born again. You've never given your life to Christ. I'm not asking this morning, are you going to come and join our church? Are you going to come and be a Baptist? Are you going to come put money in the offering plate? I'm not preaching that this morning. This morning I'm asking, will you once and for all make Jesus your King? That's what I'm asking you this morning. See, there's an exchange that happens. When you decide, you realize, you know what? I'm no longer going to serve sin. I'm no longer going to serve self. I'm no longer going to live for the things of this world. I'm going to live for Christ. It's an exchange. And until you do that, you're in big trouble with God. You're in really big trouble with God because if you die in your sin, if you die without ever having your sins dealt with through Jesus Christ, the Bible says we're going to go to the lake of fire, a place of everlasting torment, judgment. God's wrath is poured out against sinners. Romans chapter 2 verse 5 says, talks about the wrath of God being treasured up. That there are people that, as they continue to live a life of sin, continue to disobey, continue to rebel, continue to say, I will not make Jesus king, I'm king. I'm king of my life. They continue to do that. Bible says they're storing up wrath. They're literally accumulating and building up God's wrath that's gonna be poured out on them when they leave this world. That'll trouble my heart if I were in those shoes. I'm so thankful for the grace of God, though. I'm so thankful that where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. That the grace of God is that Jesus came, lived a sinless life, never sinned not one time. And yet he laid down his life to be crucified on a cross. He was a substitute on that cross for your sins and mine. In God's way of salvation, Jesus said it very clearly. He said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me. Make Him your King. That's the only way. I can't tell you go down to the mosque and follow Muhammad, that's the way. Or go down to the Roman Catholics and follow Mary, that's the way. Only Jesus Christ. Him alone. No one else can have that place. Herod can't have that place. The Herods of this world, they try to push themselves and force themselves into leadership and authority and control. But King Jesus, even as a baby, is letting his authority and power made known. And King Jesus, even today in heaven, waiting for you and for me, interceding for you and for me, he wants to establish his authority and control over your life. Will you let him? Herod wouldn't do that. He was troubled because he was in trouble with God. And I want to just make it clear this morning, you either accept Christ as King or you reject Christ as King. There's no middle ground. There's no Mediation, there's no middle ground there. There's no other options. You're either accepting this king or you reject him as king. And I'll say this, you might say, I know I need to accept him as king, but I'm not ready yet. I don't know how many times I've heard that too. And I want to just say this as plainly as I can because I love you. God loves you. Delayed disobedience is still disobedience. Delayed acceptance is rejection. When you say not yet, you're saying, no, I will not make him king. I will not give him control. I will not bow the knee. That's what you're saying. That's a very dangerous thing to say no to King Jesus. Herod was a great leader, but we know that Jesus Christ is a far superior leader. He's the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. And so what gives us the right to say no or not yet? My friend, if you're here this morning and you're in that not yet, can I challenge you? Can I pray for you, plead for you? Accept him as king today. Don't put it off. Don't delay any longer. He came to die for you. He came because he loved you. He came to bring good tidings of great joy to you. But the longer you keep saying no, you're going to be troubled. Just like Herod was. Herod was a man that rejected Christ as king. There are many that have rejected Christ as king today. And they find themselves in the same boat as Herod. You see, the opposite of Herod in chapter 2 here are these wise men. These wise men. Now I know often times we call them we three kings. We sing that hymn. The Bible doesn't specifically say that there were three. or that they were kings. But these wise men, they recognized something that Herod should have recognized. They came from a faraway land and they came and bowed the knee to a little baby because they knew he was not just a baby, he was a king. They bowed the knee and presented offerings to him. And those offerings are a picture of submission and yieldedness. And this morning, can I tell you, God doesn't want you to bring gold frankincense and myrrh to him. No, God's not interested in how much gold or frankincense and myrrh you have. He's interested in you presenting your body as a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. You give him your heart. You give him control of your life. You give him control of your destiny. That's what it means to crown him as king. Not very many Christians want to do that in America today. Not very many Christians want to say, I want to make him in control of everything of my life. Why was Herod troubled? Because he refused to accept Christ as King. But you know what's interesting? It wasn't just Herod who was troubled. Matthew 2 verse 3 says that all Jerusalem with him. All Jerusalem with him. Now, why are they all so troubled? Was it because they liked Herod so much? No. They despised Herod. They feared Herod. They knew he was paranoid. Eli would have just decided to kill anyone at any time. It wasn't that they would rather have Herod as king than Jesus as king. No, I think they were in trouble with him because they were the kind of people that don't want to rock the boat. They were the kind of people that they liked the status quo. They said, hey, you know what? This new king has come. We don't know about him. At least with Herod, we know what we got. Right? And so they like the status quo. Let's not rock the boat. Let's not change things. Let's keep things exactly the way they've been going. And there are people like that. They won't crown Jesus as king because they don't want to change their life. They're not willing to change their life because the reality is when you crown him as king, your life gets reorganized, doesn't it? Your priorities change big time. If you're going to be a sold out Christian, I'm talking about on fire for God. There are going to be some rearranging in your priority list, isn't there? But some people don't want to do that. Let's just keep the status quo. I want to be different from everyone else. I want to just be like everybody else. No changes, no rock the boat. That's what these Jerusalemites, you could say, that's why they were troubled. They didn't want to interrupt their lifestyle and what they had going. So they were troubled too. Go with me to the Gospel of John. chapter 11. John chapter 11 and verse 45. John chapter 11 talks about a great miracle where Lazarus was raised from the dead by Jesus Christ. Look at verse 45. Then many of the Jews which came to Mary and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him. So people were getting saved. They were believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 46, but some of them went their way to the Pharisees and told them what things Jesus had done. Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisee council and said, what do we? For this man doeth many miracles. If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him. And the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation. Oh, there's some people, they know, if I get saved, he's gonna change my life and everything's gonna be different. I'm going to lose my status. I might lose my position. I might lose some of my wealth because now I've got to give it to the church. And we have all these earthly reasons and logic, all these reasons that keep us from being what God wants us to be. And we're just like these people in Jerusalem. Let's go to John chapter 3. John chapter 3 and verse 19. John 3 verse 19. This is the condemnation that light is coming to the world, and men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil. For everyone that doeth evil, he hateth the light. Neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. And this is the reality. The light has come, but men love darkness rather than light. That's why people reject Christ today. They're so in love with their sin, They love the darkness. Because they know the light shines a light on how wicked they are, how depraved they are, how hopeless they are. But for us as Christians, we realize all of that. We're wicked, we're depraved, but the Lord Jesus Christ is gracious and merciful. And He comes with glad tidings of great joy, forgiveness of sin, a home in heaven. But these are them that He came unto His own and His own received Him not. It's a fulfillment exactly of that prophecy. But lastly, I wanna just close here really quickly. Herod was troubled, all of Jerusalem was troubled, but there were glad tidings of great joy that they missed out on. And some people today, the Christmas season is upon us and everyone's joyful. There's glad tidings of great joy, but they miss out on it. They don't get in on the joy and on the blessing. They're on the outside looking in, you could say. There are troublesome times in life, we know that. We all go through valleys and trials in life. But the key is we have to go to Jesus. The key is we have to continue going to Him as our King. He told us in Matthew 11, verse 28 to 30, come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart. Ye shall find rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. This morning, can I tell you there's an exchange that you can make. You can give the Lord your troubles, your trials, and he'll give you his yoke. His burden is easy, his burden is light. You exchange that. You say, Lord, all my troubles, all the vexations of this life, Lord, I give them to you. I gladly and humbly surrender and yield myself to you as king. Oh, then we'll find the peace of God. We'll find the joy of God. Because all of that is found in Christ. Not found in Sam Claus. Or Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer. No, it's not found in how many presents you got under the tree. Because you know, one day those things are going to break down, fall apart. Or you're just going to lose them somewhere in a closet. You won't even know they're there anymore. No, all these earthly things, they come into our lives, they go, they fade away. But if we want joy, eternal joy is found only in Christ, in Christ alone. Psalm 1611 says, thou will show me the path of life, in thy presence is fullness of joy. It's not just joy, but fullness of joy in his presence. At thy right hand, there are pleasures forevermore. That's what happens when you're in Christ. That's what happens when you crown him as king over your life. And so the devil oftentimes comes and says, oh, you start becoming that kind of a Christian, you're never going to have a good time. You start becoming that kind of a church member, man, you can just kiss good times goodbye. You're just going to be miserable. You're just going to be just horrible life. You won't ever have any fun again. You will never smile again. And the devil kind of presents this mentality that living for Jesus is a burden. Now the Bible says the way of transgressors is hard. But Jesus clearly told us that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. It's far better to be with Christ and have His joy and pleasures forevermore than enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season and have a price tag. So we have to make a decision. What are we going to do with this King that's come? There's glad tidings of great joy. Don't miss out. Like Herod did. See, history tells us that Herod Sadly, he didn't miss out. Till the day he died, he remained this paranoid, troubled leader, till the day he died. Maybe this morning, you know that you're in trouble with God. Oh, you maybe haven't done things like Herod, killed people that were murder and paranoia. I'm not saying you're Herod, but I'm saying the attitude and spirit of Herod, refusing to accept Christ as king, Maybe that's you this morning, and you realize, I need to stop playing games. I need to stop playing church. I need to just stop just messing around and be serious and accept Christ today, once and for all. It's time. Make a decision for Jesus. The King has come. He's coming. He's with open arms waiting for you. But you must respond. You must respond. Crown Him as King of your life. Exchange all the troubles of this world for the joy that only He can bring. That's what Matthew chapter 2 is all about. Herod, this king, this leader, and everything in life was troubled. These wise men, they come and they crown Jesus as king. There's great joy. There's great celebration. So what's your choice? What's your decision this morning? The words, the Herods of the world, I'm sorry, the Herods of this world, They like to stay in control and fight and grapple, but they're not really in control. Jesus is. For some people, that's troubling, because they like to be in control. But for Christians, we like the fact that, you know what, I'm glad I'm not in control. I'm glad He's in control, that He's sovereign. He's an all-knowing, all-wise God. I'm glad He's in control. So stop fighting God. Stop resisting. Stop being troubled and vexed. Stop being deceived by the things of this world and humbly submit yourself to Christ. Let's pray together. Our Heavenly Father, we love You. We thank You and praise You for Your goodness to us. Lord, thank You that You sent Your Son into this world to take our place on the cross. Lord, thank You that Jesus Christ truly is our King. And Lord, we know the first time he came, he suffered and bled and died on a cross. But the next time he comes, he's coming to establish a kingdom. He's coming to judge those that have rejected him. And he's coming, Lord, with joy for those that have received him. Lord, we pray you would settle in our hearts this morning, this Christmas season, that we would crown Christ as King. I pray for believers. that we would be surrendered and yielded. Pray for those that aren't saved, that you would show them what it means to crown Christ as King through faith, or by trusting what you did for us on the cross. With heads bowed and eyes closed this morning, and no one looking around, I don't want to embarrass anyone, but I wonder how many people would be honest today and say, Pastor, I know for sure that I'm saved. I know that I'm on my way to heaven, not because of my good works or anything good that I've done, But because I've trusted Christ, I've made a decision for Jesus. Just like you said, I know that I'm saved. That's my testimony. Would you raise your hand nice and high? Say, I know I'm saved. That's wonderful. Praise the Lord. You can put your hands down. Many hands raised, but maybe this morning you were a little hesitant. You couldn't really raise your hand because you have some doubts. You have some questions. The Holy Spirit is speaking to you. Not because He wants to make you feel bad, but because He wants you to respond. to His grace, to His love, His mercy. But you must respond. I wonder if there's anyone in this auditorium today that would say, Pastor, I need to be saved. That's my need today. I know I need to make Christ my King. I need to be born again. Please pray for me. Would you just lift your hand up? I'll pray for you. Pastor, please pray for me. I need to be saved. Now's the time. Don't put it off. Don't fight God. I wonder how many Christians Say, Pastor, the Holy Spirit's spoken to me. I need to be fully surrendered. He's my King. Everything belongs to Him. Pray for me that I'll be fully surrendered to Christ. If that's you, would you stick your hand up? Praise the Lord. Amen. Oh, I'm sure all of us, there's areas that we can continually give over to Christ. I'm going to ask our pianist in just a moment to play Only Trust Him. Only Trust Him. And we're going to have an altar call. The Holy Spirit's spoken to you. You can come and pray. and do business with the Lord. If you're not saved, you can come and get my attention. We'll gladly show you from the Bible what it means to be born again. Let's all stand together. Lord, have your way now during this invitation, which you work in our hearts. As the pianist begins to play, you can come down and pray at the altar. If there's some decision, some thing you know God wants you to do, or some sin you know God wants you to forsake, don't put it off. Deal with it. Do business with Christ today. If you're not saved, today could be the day of salvation for you. Jesus loves you and came to die for you. He wants to be your king. He wants to rule your life. He wants to bring you joy.