Matthew, please. Gospel of Matthew. Matthew chapter 1, a very familiar passage, particularly this time of year. Matthew chapter 1, the familiar story about the birth of our Lord. Matthew chapter 1 and verse number 18. Matthew chapter 1, verse number 18. Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this watch. In other words, the birth of Jesus was this way, in this manner. When, as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph, her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privileged. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for thou that is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, which, being interpreted, is God with us. Then Joseph, being raised from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had hidden him, and took unto him his wife, and knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son, and he called his name Jesus, let's pray. Heavenly Father, help me do my best to preach this message this morning. May the Spirit of God fill me, and use me, and direct me, and may the Spirit of God bring conviction and joy to the hearts of those gathered here today. Conviction for those who aren't saved, and joy for those who are saved, and joy for those that aren't saved, and they'll find out what real Christmas joy is all about. And that is knowing the Lord Jesus as Lord and Savior. For it's in His name we pray. Amen. Now, every year, the battle rages between traditionalists, who love Christmas, and the secularists, who despise it. And I've made comments on this over the years. The secularists, of course, want to replace Merry Christmas with Happy Holidays. I've noticed, though, if I'm in a store and the clerk says, Happy Holidays, and I respond with, Merry Christmas, he'll smile and say, oh yeah, Merry Christmas. I think they're not allowed to say it first, you know? They say a person might get fired, and who knows what's going to happen to them. But if you say it, they're allowed to say it back, I guess. I guess it's a protocol. And one of the things that's involved in this battle, not as prominent, not as recognizable, but it's there, is that many people deny the supernatural virgin birth of Christ. Even some who claim to be Christian. Don't think it's unimportant. Listen, it's very important. And I'll say why in a few minutes. Defending the supernatural virgin birth of Christ, a famous preacher from Ireland, Ian Paisley, said this. This assault on the doctrine of the virgin birth is, however, but one phase of a great battle to evacuate the supernatural from Christianity and to reduce it to the plain of natural religion. These naturalists in religion are out to destroy supernatural Christianity and to reduce it to the plane of natural religion. These naturalists in religion are out to destroy supernatural Christianity. They go through the Bible and tell us there's no supernatural revelation there. They go through the birth of Christ and tell us there's no supernatural incarnation there. They go through the person of Christ and tell us there's no supernatural deity there. They go through the sinless life of Christ and tell us there's no supernatural purity there. They go through the works of Christ and tell us there are no supernatural miracles there. They go through the words of Christ and tell us there's no supernatural wisdom there. They go through the death of Christ and tell us there's no supernatural atonement there. They go through the blood of Christ and tell us there's no supernatural cleansing there. And they go through the tomb of Christ and tell us there's no supernatural resurrection there. Having jettisoned the supernatural from the gospel ship, they have reduced her to an old hulk of man's manufacturing, a mere plaything for the storms of unbelief and the reefs of infidelity. To that I say, amen. This Christmas morning, I want to give seven important facts about the birth, the supernatural birth, of the Lord Jesus Christ. And some might say, seven points? Pastor, you're a long-winded preacher. Are we going to get out of here and have time for our Christmas meal? Don't worry. I'll try to make the seven points brief. Amen? I can smell my wife's hand cooking right now. The reason I smell it is because my oven's not working. We're using the church. First fact is, it's a virgin birth. And that is so basic to our faith. For example, look in verse 18. Now the birth of Jesus Christ is on this line. As his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph before they came together. Before they came together, before they consummated their marriage, she was already with child. It was a supernatural virgin birth. Our Lord's birth was miraculous because His was a virgin birth. Luke chapter 1. You don't have to turn there, but I'll read it to you. Luke chapter 1, verses 26 and 27 says the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee named Nazareth to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph. of the House of David, and the Virgin's name was Mary. Well, they were told that Mary was a virgin. So why should there be any dispute over this? Why should there be any controversy over this? I'll tell you why. Men simply don't believe the Bible. Men don't believe the Bible is the Word of God. I'm here this morning, this Lord's Day, this Christmas morning, to say the Bible is indeed the Word of God. There are no mistakes in the Bible. The Bible is the Word of God. Infallible. Inherent. You know, I've heard people tell me, well, you know, the Bible's got mistakes. Everybody knows that. I said, really? Everybody knows that? I don't know it. I said, show me a mistake. Oh, well, I can't find it. They're in there. I said, well, if they're in there, show me one. And you know, they always back off and say, well, I can't find one. You know why you can't find one? There are no mistakes in the Bible. The Bible's the Word of God. And there's no mistakes in the Word of God. Yet there are scoffers who deny the virgin birth of Christ. This is no other man, no other man, was ever born without an earthly father. And we see here in our text in Matthew chapter 1 that Joseph was not the father of Jesus. In fact, she was already with child when he found out he was going to put her away criminally. That means divorce her, because in those days, if a couple was espoused, they hadn't consummated the marriage yet. It was what we call the Petropa period. Similar to our engagement period, but a little more serious because they were considered husband and wife. And if the man found out his wife was unfaithful, he could put her away. And it says here that he was a just man. He didn't want her to be a public example. In other words, she could have been stoned to death. Now, imagine if they stoned women to death today. You were pregnant without being married. They'd run out of stones, right there, right now. Still, all the business would be really humming along, booming, if they did it today. But back then, there was a big scandal. So Joseph was a just man. But then the angel appeared to him and said, Joseph, notice here in our text, he appears to him in a dream, said, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not. You take us, and ye marry thy wife. For that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. So the supernatural, virgin birth. So this is very plain. Look also at Luke chapter 1. We can play some Matthew. We'll be right back. But look at Luke chapter 1, verse 30. Luke chapter 1, verse 30. And the angel said unto her, said unto Mary, Fear not, Mary, for thou hast done favour with God, and, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest. And the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David. And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary, verse 34, unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? Now, know not a man means I've never known a man in an intimate way. That's the idea. Know a man means I've never had relations with a man. How can I possibly have a baby? And what did the angel say? What a wonderful, unusual description of the virgin birth is found here in Luke chapter 1 verse 35. So the virgin birth is a very basic, fundamental doctrine of the Word of God. And that is so important. How can a man have no father? It is a biological impossibility. You know what I say to that? Adam had no father. Adam had no mother. How about that? Listen, what's impossible for man is not impossible for God. Amen? If you read carefully the genealogy in Matthew chapter 1, you see over and over a certain word. I want you to notice this. Go back to Matthew 1, and you can start way back in verse 2. You're going to see a word, you can mark it, begat. See the word begat? You'll see that word all through this chapter. Jacob begat Isaac, and Isaac begat Jacob, and Jacob begat Judah, and Judah and his brethren, and Judah begat Cyrus, and Cyrus, all the way down. However, when you come to verse 16, you'll notice that Joseph did not begat Jesus. Because Joseph is not the father of Jesus. Galatians 4.4 says, But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son made of a woman, but not made of a man. Joseph had nothing to do with it. Our Lord had to be born of a woman because he had to be human in order to be our Savior. And to die on the cross for our sins. But he also had to be born of a virgin in order to be our sinless Savior. our spotless Savior. And he also had to be born to a virgin to fulfill Isaiah's prophecy. Go back to our text, Matthew 1, verse 22. Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophets. That's the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah 7, 14 says, Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Emmanuel. Matthew chapter 1 verses 24 and 25 says, Joseph took unto him his wife and knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son and he called his name Jesus. So knew her not until she brought forth Jesus, meaning he did know her after Jesus was born. You say, well, the Roman Catholics, she always stayed a virgin. Well, that contradicts the Bible, too. The Bible says he knew her not until she brought forth her firstborn son, meaning after the Lord Jesus was born, Joseph and Mary had a normal married life. In fact, the Bible tells us that there were sons and daughters born to that union. It gives us the names of the children. In fact, the Book of James, the Episcopal James, he's a half-brother of our Lord. and the book of Jude. Jude is another half-brother of our Lord. But here's my point. Only a sinless Savior, born to a virgin, could die on the cross as our perfect substitute. So first, it's a virgin birth. Secondly, it's a prophesied birth. Now, we already saw that here in our text. It says here, in verse 22, that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet. That's the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah 7.14. Our Lord's virgin birth is just one of many. It's the first of many Old Testament prophecies that were fulfilled on that Christmas day 2,000 years ago. Look at Isaiah 9.6. And by the way, I'll be preaching from that tonight. If you can get back tonight, we'll have a great meeting tonight. Isaiah chapter 9, verse 6. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor. Watch this! The Mighty God! The Lord Jesus is the Mighty God! The Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. So that's just the course of many prophecies. Micah, chapter 5, verse 2. Why don't we turn there? Micah was a contemporary of Isaiah. They both ministered around the same time, about 700 years before Christ. And if you go to the book of Micah, the little book of Micah, chapter 5, and verse number 2. for thou Bethlehem Ephrathah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me, that is to be ruler in Israel, whose going forth hath been from of old, from everlasting." So our Lord's birth was a virgin birth. Secondly, it was a prophesied birth. Many, many prophecies regarding the birth of our Lord. Later on, many other Old Testament prophecies will be fulfilled in the life of Christ. His betrayal, His crucifixion, that men would gamble for His clothing, He was buried in a rich man's tomb, His resurrection from the grave. Listen, there are many, many other prophecies regarding Christ. And by the way, I said it before, and many times I'll say it again, just like all of these fascinating prophecies, regarding the first coming of Christ were so accurately fulfilled, we can be certain that all of the many prophecies regarding the second coming of Christ will likewise be accurately fulfilled. In fact, there are many more prophecies regarding the second coming of Christ than there are regarding the first coming of Christ. And any reasonable person whether Jew or Gentile, who studies the evidence, would have to be convinced that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, because his birth was a prophesied birth. Actually, the first Messianic prophecy is found way back in Genesis chapter 3, verse 15, where we read that the Lord God said unto the serpent, and I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed." Have you ever thought about those words, her seed? Normally we think of the seed coming from the man, right? The man is the one who provides the seed. But how can we have the seed of the woman? Isn't that a little unusual? Her seed is an unusual term. But thank God, as we said, the Bible is a supernatural book. And there are many remarkable things, unusual things in the Bible. Because our Lord's birth was a supernatural birth. And the seed always refers to the seed of a man, not a woman. Biologically, a woman does not produce seed. In the Bible, the word seed always refers to the seed of a man. For example, we read often about the seed of Abraham. We read in Genesis 12, the Lord appeared unto Abram and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land. God said, To your seed, Abraham. And then that promise was extended to Isaac, and to your seed, and then to Jacob, and to thy seed. It was always the seed of a man! The seed of a man. The Bible speaks of the seed of David, and the seed of Israel, and so on. This is the normal usage of the word seed. Revelation 12, 17 says, And the dragon was wrought with the woman and went to make war with the remnant of her seed. However, this is a symbolic passage. The dragon represents the devil and the woman represents the nation Israel. The promised seed of the woman. referred to in Genesis chapter 3 verse 15, was miraculously implanted in the womb of Mary by the Holy Ghost, as we just saw in the Gospel of Luke. The seed, the seed of the woman, that seed was put there by God, miraculously, supernaturally. You may recall that when Mary was told by the angel Gabriel, that she was going to give birth to the Messiah. She responded by saying, how shall this be? Seeing I know not a man, meaning I've never been intimate with a man, I'm a virgin, how can this be? And the angel said, the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the higher shall overshadow thee, therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. Luke chapter 135. That's how we have the seed of a woman. not the normal way a man produces the seed. In this way, the Lord Jesus would not inherit the sinful nature which would disqualify him from being our Savior. Because Romans 3.23 says, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. All, that is, except the sinless, spotless, virgin-born Son of God. Genesis 3.15. is indeed a biological impossibility because it is supernatural and miraculous. So first, it's a virgin birth. Secondly, it's a prophesied birth. Thirdly, it's a holy birth. A holy birth. So far, we've seen everything about the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ was unusual. Everything about the birth of Christ was unique. He was born to a virgin in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies. Some that go back 700 years, to the days of Isaiah and Micah, and some that go all the way back to the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3.15. And here's another unusual factor about the birth of our Lord. that sets him apart from all other men. He was born without sin. His was a holy birth. Every other baby born into this world is born with a sinful nature. Every other baby. David wrote these words, Behold I was shapen in iniquity And in sin did my mother conceive me. Psalm 51 verse 5. Now what David says, in sin did my mother conceive me, he means his mother was a sinner, her mother was a sinner, and his mother and the parents were all sinners, all the way back to Adam and Eve. But, the Lord Jesus is the exception. His was a holy birth. David also wrote this in Psalm 58 verse 3. The wicked are restrained from the womb. They go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies. The Apostle Paul, as I said, said, for all have sin in Romans chapter 3, 23. Every being that is born into this world has a sinful nature. I know some of you in Paris are going to hear that. You look at that little baby of yours. He's so cute, and she's so cute and cuddly. Oh, mine's an exception. Mine is so precious. Yeah, but then they pull the rattle at you. And then you go to give them the food, and they spit it out at you. Already we're seeing that sinful nature. Even at an early age, that sinful nature's there. But the Lord Jesus Christ has no sinful nature. His was a holy birth. Now, you go into the nursery over here, and you look at all those sweet little babies. Someday those sweet little babies are going to grow up lying, yeah? And doing naughty things. Sometimes very naughty things, unless we parents are careful, huh? Make sure we teach them the Word of God and bring them to Sunday school and church. Why? Why do these little precious babies grow up sometime to be monsters? Because of sin. Sin. But 2,000 years ago, when those shepherds looked into the face of the baby Jesus, they were looking into the face of a child that would never sin. They were looking into the face of a child who was God manifest in the flesh. And God is sinless. and holy. And our Lord's birth was a holy birth. Behold, a virgin shall be with child. I'm reading to you from Matthew chapter 1 verse 23. A virgin shall be with child and shall bring forth a son and they shall call his name Emmanuel. Which being interpreted is God with us. And by the way, for you that are saved today, thank God he's not only God with us, he's God in us. Thank God for that. When you receive the Lord as your Savior, He comes to dwell within you. Isn't that precious? Isn't that wonderful? That God lives in us. So this was a baby who was not born with a sinful nature. Remember, Jesus said this in John 8, verse 46. He said, Who convinces me of sin? Of course, there were none. None. He said, Who convinces me of sin? He said that in John 8.46. 1 John 3.5 says, And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins, and in him is no sin. Hebrews 4.15 says, Christ was at all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. 2 Corinthians 5.21 says, For he hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin. 1 Peter 2.22 says, Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. Peter said that Christ has once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust. He's just, we're unjust. He's sinless, we're sinful. He's the sinless, spotless Son of God. So we see our Lord's birth was a virgin birth, and a prophesied birth, and a holy and sinless birth. Fourth, it was a pre-existent birth. I already read to you from Isaiah chapter 9 verse 6. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. For the son to be given, it means he already existed before his birth. Our Lord didn't begin back in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago. He's the eternal Son of God. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He has always existed, always was and always will be the Son of God. Romans chapter 8 verse 3 says God sent Jesus, his own Son, in the likeness of sinful flesh. Notice the Bible is so careful the way it's worded. He sent Jesus in the likeness of sinful flesh. It doesn't say in sinful flesh. and the likeness. So in other words, if people looked at Jesus, he looked like any other man. When those shepherds looked at that baby in the manger, he looked like any other baby. I know I've seen Christmas cards with the halo and the glow. There's no evidence of that from Scripture. But yet, there was something very special about him. Because his was a holy birth. His was a pre-existent birth. 1 Timothy 3.16 says, God was manifest in the flesh, and that word manifest assumes pre-existence. God was manifest in the flesh. You'll recall in the Gospel of John, chapter 8, verse 58, the Lord Jesus said to the Pharisees, verily, verily, I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am. You know, if he would have said, before Abraham was, I was, that would have been remarkable too, right? and the Abraham of 2,000 years before Christ. Everybody said, you're not even 50 years old yet, how can you say that? He didn't say that. Before Abraham was, I was. That would have been quite astounding. He said, before Abraham was, I am. Means he's eternal God. I am. Always was, always will be. Before Abraham was, I am. And you know, the next verse, And you're familiar with that passage. The next verse, John 8, verse 59, it says they took up stones to cast at him. Why? They understood what he was saying. They understood that claim. And the Pharisees didn't like that. They didn't believe he was the Messiah. They didn't believe he was the Son of God. So they finally stoned him to death. They understood what he was claiming, that he is the eternal Son of God. Consider Micah 5, 2, which I just read a few minutes ago. where it says, but thou Bethlehem Ephrathah, though thou be little, in other words, we sing that song, Little Town of Bethlehem, it was a little town, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me, that is to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been from of old, or watch this, from everlasting. His goings forth have been, not just from old, from everlasting. He's eternal. His birth was a pre-existent birth. The world thinks that before that first Christmas, there was no Jesus. No! That's when he came into the world, to be born, to marry, and so on. But he always existed as the Son of God. His was a pre-existent birth. It's interesting, if you study a Bible, you'll note that our Lord never referred to his birth. And most of us refer to our birth, right? I met a fellow recently from Astoria. And I said, hey, I was born in Astoria. I was born in Astoria General Hospital. And he told me, yes, not there anymore. I said, oh, if I was born there, close it down, amen? But seriously, I talk about my birth. I'll talk about my mom and my dad. You do, too, sometimes, right? Some of you are born, you're from Haiti. I was born in Haiti. Or you're from Jamaica. I was born there. We all talk about our birth on occasion. But you'll notice the Lord Jesus never referred to his birth. He never did. Not even once. He always referred to himself as being sent. Now I studied this the other day and I went through the Bible and I marred all the many references to when Jesus said he was sent. There were so many I couldn't read them all now. Then we'd really miss our Christmas dinner, eh? if I was to read them all to you. You check out this week. You're doing your devotions. You're doing your Bible study time. Just go through your Bible. Look at the Gospels. The four Gospels. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Mark down every time Jesus said he was saved. Oh, there's so many references. I'll just read a few to you. He said in Matthew 15, 24, I am not sent but unto the Lord chief of the house of Israel. Here's one example. He always refers to himself as being sent. He never refers to his birth. He's focusing, emphasizing his pre-existence! Here's what the pre-existence verse. Jesus said in Mark 9, verse 37, Our Lord said in Luke 4, verse 43, And what really impressed me was going to the Gospel of John. And the Gospel of John, by the way, the Gospel of John emphasized our Lord's deity. More so than the other Gospels. That's why many times as soul winners, we like to give a Gospel of John to somebody. Read this Gospel of John. R. A. Corey, I think it was, said he always gave out Gospels of John, and without exception, when people would read it, they'd get saved. He'd follow up on it. You read the Gospel of John? Yeah, and he's been to the Lord. The Gospel of John is wonderful. Of course, all that's written in the Bible is wonderful. But the Gospel of John has a special emphasis on the deity of Christ. And when I was going through John, I noticed over and over and over again, the Lord emphasized he was sent. He was sent from God. He was sent from heaven. And so forth. I'll just give you one example. John chapter 6, verse 38. For I came down from heaven. See, the praise is in verse. He came down from heaven. I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me." That would be representative of what we see in the Gospel of John. He came down from heaven to do the will of God the Father. Now, his birth was like no other birth. The ancients of days became the babe in the manger. His was a pre-existent birth. Moving along, number five, his was a royal birth. I'll say more about this tonight, but his was a royal birth. One of my favorite Christmas carols is Charles Wesley's grand old Christmas carol, Hark the Herald Angels Sing. In fact, that's not only one of my favorites, I think it is my favorite. Hark the Herald Angels Sing, glory to the newborn king. His was a royal birth. You'll recall what the angel Gabriel said to Mary, the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David. Luke chapter 1 verses 32 and 33. And then of course we see the same thing in Isaiah chapter 9 verses 6 and 7. And by the way, that will be my text tonight. As a matter of fact, our Lord was descended from King David on both Mary's side and Joseph's side. On both sides. He was descended from King David. The wise men said, when they arrived from the east, where is he that is born King of the Jews? Matthew 2.2. His was a royal birth. And thank God he's not only the King of the Jews, he's the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Amen? He's the King of the whole earth. So his was a royal birth. Sixth, his was a wondrous birth. Speaking of the wise men, and I preached about them last week, I think it was. Consider that story. They traveled all the way from the East. We don't even know where in the East. Many people think Persia. And I think it's a very good guess. But it's conjecture. We can't prove that. But they came from the East, following a star. I said last week, no maps, no GPS, no nut quest. But they had something better, a star. They followed that star. And we read about that in Matthew chapter 2. His birth was a wondrous birth. And when we consider how wonderful our Lord's birth was, we think of that angelic host praising God and saying, glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, goodwill toward men. Luke chapter 2 verse 14. Just think of that angelic host all together praising God. all of them together, this huge, huge innumerable host of angels saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men. I've heard some beautiful Christmas music, and so have you. We sing the hymns, you know, Come, O Come, Emmanuel, and the Hark the Herald Angels Sing, and the First Noel, and of course, I love Handel's Messiah. And this is all beautiful, but can any of it compare to that first Christmas when the shepherds looked up into the sky and they heard the angels praising God saying, Glory to God. Can you imagine that? But how those shepherds must have felt just standing there or listening to that and seeing that. It was a wondrous birth. His was a wondrous birth. What majestic sights and sounds. And think about God doing that for those humble shepherds. Humble shepherds. We don't know their names. I mean, they were obscure, probably pretty poor, and yet God blessed them like that. That's the grace of God. His was a wondrous birth. What a night those shepherds had. They never forgot that night. Oh, our Lord's birth was a wondrous birth. And then finally, my last point, a doomed birth. The birth of our Lord was like no other birth in that He was born to die. He came into this world for that one purpose. He was born to die. He came into this world specifically to die on the cross for our sins. His was a doomed birth. The Bible says Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. 1 Timothy 1.15. Very, very little is said about the childhood of the Lord Jesus. We see him in the temple when he was 12 years old, and that's about it. Luke chapter 2, verses 41 and following, that little story there, that's about it. It was at the age of 30 that he began his public ministry. And most of his public ministry, and you can see this very clearly if you'll study the four Gospels, and I've been studying them carefully for many years, most of his public ministry was in the shadow of the cross. Just read the Gospels with that in mind. The cross was always before him. His was a doomed birth. He came into this world to die. The big emphasis in the New Testament is not on the birth of Christ. The big emphasis in the New Testament is on the death of Christ. He died as our substitute. He died on the cross for your sins and mine. And no one will ever get to heaven apart from the blood atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ. People say to me, I'm going to go to heaven because I'm a good person. If you're such a good person, why did Jesus die on the cross for your sins? If he was thinking he could get to heaven by being so good, why did Christ have to die such a terrible death, a horrible death? Tried those big nails through his hands and feet. Hang him on a cross, a shameful death like that. Spit on him, whip him, mock him. Crown of thorns on his head. Why did he endure all that if he didn't get to heaven because you think you're so good? No, my friend. No one gets to heaven. without the shed blood of Jesus Christ. It was the great preacher's virgin who said, morality will keep you out of jail, but takes the blood of Christ to keep you out of hell. You're not going to get out of hell just by being a good person. In fact, most folks tell me that good persons aren't even so good anyway. In fact, most of them are rascals. But they think they're good, right? They think they're good. Or they compare themselves to others. You know, my neighbor cheats on his wife. My neighbor gets drunk. I'm a good person. I don't do that. Well, fully for you. You don't beat your wife. You don't get drunk. You're still a dirty sinner according to the Word of God. By the way, we shouldn't compare ourselves with our sinful friends and neighbors. So if we should compare ourselves to God, and we compare ourselves to God, we see how far through we fall. Amen? So his was a doomed birth. The emphasis of the New Testament is on the death of Christ. Even way back in the beginning, in Luke chapter 2, verse 35, Simeon said to Mary, yea, a sword shall pierce through thine own soul also. What did he mean by that? You're going to stand there and watch your son die. You're going to stand there and watch men mocking him and spitting on him and taunting him. You're going to see those big spikes that will be driven through his feet and hands. Yea, he said, a sword shall pierce through. thy own soul also." Later, John the Baptist introduced the Lord Jesus by saying, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. This was in line with all the Old Testament types and prophecies. And the Old Testament is filled with animal sacrifices, including Passover lambs, goats on the Day of Atonement, and many pictures and types of the Lord Jesus Christ, who was born to die. on the cross for you and me. 1,000 years before Calvary, David wrote these familiar words. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax. It is melted in the midst of my bowels. They pierced my hands and my feet. Psalm 22, verses 1 and 14 and 16. By the way, when David said they pierced my hands and my feet, that was 1,000 years before the cross. And the Jews knew nothing about crucifixion. Back then, if the Jews were going to execute some criminal, they stoned them. They didn't crucify anybody. But how can David say that? They pierced my hands and my feet. Because the Bible is the inspired word of God. Crucifixion didn't become popular until hundreds of years after David wrote that. And it wasn't the Jews who popularized it, it was the Romans. David said, they pierced my hands and my feet. 700 years before the cross, the prophet Isaiah said, but he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him. And with his stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53, verse 5. And after our Lord was crucified, and after he was buried, and after he rose from the dead, The Apostle Paul said, for I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 1 Corinthians 2. But this aspect of Christmas is seldom talked about. Oh, it's much more fun to talk about ho, ho, ho and jolly old Saint Nick and Santa Claus in presence, right? By the way, it's not very jolly for some people. I heard they were having a sale on sneakers and people were killing each other over it. And not just in one store, I have several stores around different states. In Georgia, North Carolina, other places. Rye is breaking out of her sneakers! That's what I said, I think it was a couple of weeks ago, Christmas brings out the best in the worst. Right? The best is people are happy to be with their loved ones, they come to church and they pray and they worship God, they give a good Christmas offer, amen? It brings out the best, amen? But it brings out the worst. People pepper spray because they want to get something and And people pull into a parking lot, and the shopping mall is packed, and they see a spot, and they want to get in there. Somebody gets in there, hands them a gun, and shoots them. Road rage at the shopping mall. Ho, ho, ho. See, that's what people think about Christmas. In fact, Carl mentioned a good story the other night, that he has a co-worker who's a Hindu. A Hindu. I used to celebrate Christmas, and I was into Christmas, but I had to give it up. I can't afford it anymore. In other words, her concept of Christmas was spending a lot of money and shopping and buying things. But love, that's not the real Christmas! The real Christmas was Jesus was born, and the reason he was born was that he would grow up to die on the cross for our sins! His was a due birth. But this aspect of Christmas, about Jesus being born so he could die, is completely ignored by the world. It doesn't fit in with their worldly parties. their worldly celebrations, their worldly TV commercials, their worldly sales at the stores. They think of a jolly fat Santa Claus. That's better company than despised and crucified Savior. The person brings this up at the office party or some Christmas party, even a family get-together, we'll get upset, son, don't talk about that. Don't talk about that. Let's just have a good time and forget all this talk about Jesus dying and shedding his blood and all that. Don't talk about that. But sinners are not saved by a baby in a manger. People are saved by the crucified Savior. They only can be saved by the Lord Jesus dying on the cross for their sins, not by the Lord being born to them in a manger. Hark the herald angels sing, glory to the newborn king, peace on earth and mercy mild. God and sinners reconciled. The only way the holy God and wicked sinners can be reconciled is through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, believing he died on the cross to your sins. The only way to be saved. Some people think, well, I go to church on Christmas, I must be a good person. My friend, I'm glad you came to church, but you need to be saved! You need to be born again! Coming to church is okay as far as it goes, but it will not get you into heaven! A lot of people think, well, I go to church on Easter, I go to church on Christmas, I must be doing pretty good. It's pretty good! A lot of lost people go to church on Easter. As a matter of fact, a lot of lost people go to church every Sunday! Let me tell you something, hell is full of church members! No, my friend, you must be born again, and the only way to be saved is through the blood of Jesus Christ. The only way wicked, rebellious sinners can be reconciled to a holy God is by the blood of the cross. And how do you make peace through the blood of His cross? Colossians 1.20 says, by Him, to reconcile all things unto Himself. I saw something on the internet the other day. It said the greatest gift was not placed under a tree, But it was hung on a tree. Ah, I like that. That person gets it. That person gets it. Unfortunately, that people didn't get it. Because I stopped celebrating Christmas. What she meant is I'm going to stop shopping and going into debt and buying a lot of presents. I'm going to stop putting up all these ornaments around my house and Christmas lights. Listen, that's not what we're talking about. And by the way, I'm not opposed to giving gifts. And I thank God, thank God for the kindness He gives me. Praise the Lord, amen. Praise God, amen. I'm not knocking that. My wife and I give gifts to our kids. I'm all for it. I'm not against decorating. We decorated our house and thank God Lynn got the ball rolling and then when Carmella came home from work, she got into it. The place looks great now. I'm not opposing it. All I'm saying is that's not the number one thing, amen? The number one thing is trusting Jesus, knowing Him as your Lord and Savior, putting Christ first in Christmas. And not just putting Christ first in Christmas, putting Christ first every day. Some folks get real nice around Christmas, and after the holiday, get back to their miserable selves again. But get saved and praise God every day, at least better than Christmas. Amen? Well, we need to look beyond the manger for the cross. Amen? And if you can see the real reason why Christ came into this world, and if you can believe that the reason He came was to die on the cross for your sins, and you can believe that and put your trust in Him, thank God you can be saved even today. Let's pray.