This morning we're in Luke chapter 2. Luke chapter 2, verses 1 through 7. So we'll look at the narrative, the birth of Jesus this morning, and then next Sunday morning we will look to the sky and the appearance of the angels at the birth of Jesus. We'll take those 20 verses and we'll divide them up, taking the first seven this morning. I'll tell you what, these youngsters, they get here, they start praising the Lord right when they get in the room, right? They don't wait for the first note to be played. They're right there. I just want to tell them it's not a competition, you know. We're all in this together. Just praise us to the Lord. It's good to hear from those young ones. So Luke chapter 2, this is the birth of Jesus. This is the incarnation. This is God become man. This is special. And Luke gives us the, he just records it just straight up for us. And I'm often reminded of this verse three in chapter one, three and four, where Luke tells us his purpose in writing. So you have the four gospels, you got Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and Matthew, Matthew and John are the only apostles. Mark and Luke were not apostles. But Luke has undertaken this project. He wants the important stuff documented. And he talks about that in the introduction. And it really serves us well in understanding the purpose of Luke, the physician. We'll just, we'll start there in verse 1 just to catch it all. He says, "...inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the Word, it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully, from the beginning to write it out for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught." So, the purpose is that you and I would know the exact truth concerning the life and ministry of Jesus. And Luke obviously did some investigating because we have information concerning the birth of John the Baptist and the birth of Jesus in Luke's gospel that we have in no other gospel account. So this is special and this man, Luke, evidently worked tirelessly to interview, to ascertain from eyewitnesses what took place, and he recorded it for you and I, so that we would know the truth. So, this is the truth. What we're reading is the truth of God's Word concerning Jesus. So, we'll look over here into chapter 2. This is our text, verses 1 through 7. Now, in those days, a decree went out from Caesar, Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him and was with child. While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son. And she wrapped him in cloths and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the end. Father in heaven, thank you for this recording, this account of the birth of Christ. Any birth, the birth of a child is worth celebrating. But the birth of your son causes us to marvel, causes us to bow in reverence of who you are and what you do. So this morning, Lord, speak to us out of the situation, out of this pivotal, all-time event of the birth of Christ, as to who you are. And we'll give you the praise and glory in Jesus' name. Amen and amen. So, the verse, the part that is the powerful part, The marvelous part here is verse seven, the first part, and she gave birth to her firstborn son. And we have that one little line about the birth. And I think most births that I've heard about, you could probably write a book, right? But here we have one line, and it's just so beautiful that Mary gave birth to her firstborn son. And then what she did, she wrapped him in cloths. I like the King James here. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes. And laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn. Well. I want us to just marvel at the goodness and graciousness of God in sending his son. And I think to begin, I want to read from the 1689 London Confession concerning the incarnation of Jesus. I'm just going to read it off of my phone here. And it's brief, but it's a description. And this is what we believe about what we're reading here. It says, the Son of God, the second person in the Holy Trinity, being very and eternal God, the brightness of the Father's glory, of one substance and equal with Him, who made the world, who upholds and governs all things He has made, did, when the fullness of time was complete, take upon Him man's nature. with all the essential properties and common infirmities of it, yet without sin. Being conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary, the Holy Spirit coming down upon her, and the power of the Most High overshadowing her, and so was made of a woman of the tribe of Judah, of the seed of Abraham and David, according to the Scriptures, so that two whole, perfect, and distinct natures were inseparably joined together in one person. Without conversion, composition, or confusion, which person is very God and very man? Yet one Christ, the only mediator between God and man. Amen, and amen to that. So the virgin birth is what we have before us. And I'd like to just go through these few verses, and then in closing, talk to us about what the virgin birth, what is God telling us through this virgin birth? What is he telling us about himself? What do we learn about God from this virgin birth of his son? Look in verse 1, as we just look at the situation, the circumstance in those days. It says, now in those days, a decree, the word there, we get our word dogma from. So, a decree. It was a command given, and it goes from Caesar Augustus. He is the son of Julius Caesar, and he is, by all accounts, you know, you read historians, he's a wonderful man. He's a very powerful man, and he has through a lot of intrigue, he has come to power over the Roman Empire. And the Roman Empire is spread out, it is sprawling, it covers vast territory. And the Bible tells us that this Caesar Augustus, Caesar is like a word for king, and then Augustus, you know, this guy on a pedestal, he's high up, he's august. that a census, so this was important for a ruling country like the United States. the Romans, the Roman Empire, that they would take a census, that they would have an account of all the citizens of a certain area, in this case it's Syria, and Judea is located within Syria, and they want to know how many people, they want to know how many ships, they want to know about soldiers and armies and this kind of thing, so he's commanded a census. And this census was commanded for all the inhabited earth of the known world back then. The Bible tells us this was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. So Quirinius is a governor and he was in a in a couple different instances in an official capacity, and we think maybe even a time or two in an unofficial capacity as an administrator. Evidently, he was an administrator of the census. And in verse 3, everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city. So, here is where we get Roman law and we get Jewish customs coming together, and it causes all kinds of questions for people. I wonder, well, why oh why would Joseph be going up from Galilee from the city of Nazareth to Judea, when people say, historians, scholars say that that would not have been a requirement by Rome, but it would have been a requirement by Jewish custom, because that's what they did. They went back to an ancestral city. They either went back there because that is their city of origin, or they go back there because that is where they own land. So Joseph, we find him, he's going up from Galilee, and he would have been going up from the city of Nazareth to Judea to the city of David. Interestingly enough, Joseph and Mary are descendants of David. Mary, the mother of Jesus, she's his mother. Joseph is just the legal guardian or legal father. of Jesus, not the biological father. So they're going back, they set out, this is a command, this has come from the top, and the Jews were a subjugated people, they're going to follow the rules, they're going to go back, they're going to register for the census, that's what this is about, it's about registration. It's not necessarily the tax itself, there's another word that they use for that, this is just to enroll, this is to register, this is to put your name on the list. And they're going each to his own city. And this city that they're returning to is called Bethlehem. And Bethlehem means house of bread. I like to put this with Jesus' words in John 6, where Jesus looks at the people and he says, I am the bread, I'm the true bread that came down from heaven. And everyone who partakes of me, says Jesus, is nourished and has the nourishment of eternal life. Well, that's where they were going. They were going to the house of bread, Mary and Joseph. And the Bible says, why? It says, because he was of the house and family of David. So, city of origin, of their ancestral origin. And why are they going? Verse 5, in order to register, there that word is again, to put their name down, to enroll along, I love this, along with Mary. So we've got Joseph and Mary together. And this is important, Mary is, of course, she's pregnant. And there was a lot of question about that pregnancy, and a lot of raised eyebrows, and that would last through the ministry of Jesus. But Joseph and Mary are with each other, they are one. That's really important. Luke puts Joseph and Mary together. And we might think, well, why would Mary want to travel at such a time as that? I mean, she's great with child, why would she? Well, she's with Joseph, and she's going to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem. And the Bible says that she's engaged to him or betrothed to him, so they are betrothed, they are married, the marriage has not been consummated, And the Bible says she is with child. And while they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. Where? At Bethlehem. And she gave birth, there it is, she gave birth to her firstborn son, and she wrapped him in cloths and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn. So what is God telling us? What is this virgin birth of Jesus? What does it speak of? What does it tell us about God? I've got five points. We'll try to get through these and just clip right along. But first thing that the virgin birth speaks to us of God is of his pre-existence. His pre-existence. We could say even the existence of God, the existence of God. So there are people who doubt the existence of God. Well, this speaks of not only the existence of God, but the pre-existence of God. And I can prove it to you over here in John 1. Which I love John's birth narrative, it's different than all the others. He says, in the beginning was the Word. And he identifies the Word down in verse 14 of chapter 1, the Word became flesh. We're talking about God's existence, the existence of God. The Word became flesh, right there in verse 14 of John 1. So the Word is Jesus, but he says, in the beginning was the Word. So, the existence of Jesus didn't start when Mary gave birth to Jesus. Jesus existed the whole time. John says, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. And the Word was God, not only with God, but the Word was God. He was in the beginning, there it is again, in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him. through the Word, and apart from Him, the Word, nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it." So the virgin birth speaks to us of the existence of God, really the pre-existence of God, and we read it a while ago from the wonderful confession that Jesus is pre-existent. His life didn't begin at his birth on this planet. Jesus has existed from everlasting to everlasting. His pre-existence is powerful. And then over in Colossians, I love this particular passage of Scripture. This is from Paul's perspective. from his learning and from his experience over in verse 16 this is Colossians 1 verses 16 through 20 beautiful powerful words concerning the pre-existence of Jesus for by him By Jesus, all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things. and in Him all things hold together. He is also the head of the body, the church, and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him and through Him, to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross, through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven. So we're talking about the birth of Christ and how it speaks of the existence of God. God exists, that we live in this created order, and indeed it speaks of the pre-existence of God. Secondly, and these overlap in a beautiful way, Secondly, the virgin birth speaks of the providential workings of God. So turn back in your Bible to Micah. Micah, known as a minor prophet, just because of the brevity of what they said, but Micah chapter 5. Beginning with verse 1, and we're thinking about the providential working of God. How God works providentially back then and continues to this day to work in this manner. This is Micah's writing, he prophesies hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus. He says, now muster yourselves in troops, daughter of troops, they have laid siege against us. With a rod they will smite the judge of Israel on the cheek. But as for you, Bethlehem, house of bread, too little to be among the clans of Judah. From you, there it is, from you, from you Bethlehem, one will go forth for me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago." There's his pre-existence. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity. Oh, well, this is a double blessing. We have not only the providential working of God, that through Micah, he prophesied that this ruler of Israel would be born in Bethlehem, that he would come from Bethlehem, and then he goes on to describe his existence from long ago, from the days of eternity. So the Lord used Caesar Augustus to bring Mary and Joseph to this little town of Bethlehem in order to birth the Christ child that is in accordance or corresponding to the prophecy given in Micah. Isn't that wonderful? Isn't that just like our Lord? I wonder how much Mary and Joseph thought about this. I know they're versed in the Scriptures, they're Jews, they had to know the Scriptures. I wonder if Mary thought about Isaiah 7 and Isaiah 9 and the prophecies concerning a virgin birth, but then I wonder as... As things are leading up and getting closer for her to deliver the baby, and there they are in Nazareth, I wonder if they're thinking, well, I wonder how is this going to work, because the Savior, the ruler of Israel is going to come out of Bethlehem, and here we are sitting in Nazareth. And then here's this proclamation. by this pagan king, this emperor, this Caesar, Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. And this sets the wheels in motion for a lot of people, but specifically for Mary and Joseph, that they would go to Bethlehem. And it just happened to be that while they were there, Mary gave birth to Jesus. It's just amazing. It's amazing. And I want you to think about this. So God worked providentially back then, but he continues to work providentially today. And I want you to think just with regard to yourself. Think about God's providential working in your life. What is he doing? And sometimes, granted, we don't see it all, right? But what is he doing in your life right now? And how has he worked in your life in the past? And how is he leading? And how is he his circumstances in your life to put you where you are? In that place of hungering and thirsting for God, for Christ. To know more, to learn more, to experience more, to live more, to be more obedient to Him. What has He done for that to happen in your life? Don't miss the providential working of God. There are no accidents with the Lord. Thirdly, I think the virgin birth of Jesus speaks of God's power. God's power. Never minimize God's power, this one who created the heavens and the earth. Back there in Genesis 1, we have Moses testifying to the power of God. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. He doesn't go into a great deal of explanation on that. He goes on to tell us that God spoke and things happened. In fact, it's very basic language. It's be light. Night was. But God's power. Think about God's power. God's power in creating the world. God's power in... God's power manifested in a virgin birth. When does that happen? It doesn't just happen. It happens because we serve a mighty Lord. God is powerful, God is all-powerful, His power is seen throughout the Scriptures. Never doubt the miracle-working capacity of God. Here's one for you, Romans chapter 1. Romans chapter 1 and verse 16, we're talking about the power of God. This God who hung the stars in place, this God who orchestrated a virgin birth, that His only begotten would come into the world. Well, look at this. Paul says, for I am not ashamed. This is Romans 1 16. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is what? It is the power of God. They never diminish in your own mind the power of God, because it takes the power of God for one to be born again, to receive the forgiveness of sin, to come to the place of faith where you trust Christ. We call that saving faith. The power of God to change a mind, to change a heart, to change a lifestyle. This is our God. A God who is all powerful to change things, to change you, to change me. I think this gets lost in our day. I think sometimes Christians are so quick to tell what they don't believe. Well, here's what I don't believe God can do. Well, God can do anything. Is anything too difficult for Him? No, nothing's too difficult for God. He is an almighty God and His power on this day, in this year, is not diminished one iota from His power that was displayed when the worlds were born. It's never been diminished. I'm just here to testify to the power of God. His grace, His mercy, His power coming to bear on the human heart, the human life. That power is felt. And then fourthly, I'm testifying to the existence of God. And that God is not theoretical, He is real. And this is good. He wants to be known. So the virgin birth tells us, if anything, that God's personal. He's a personal God. I mean, if he was impersonal, he could just remain high and transcendent and over and above and out. And never bothered to speak to us through the word. But he is personal. God is very personal, he wants to be known. I wanna testify to that today. I don't just preach this, I believe this. So I'm gonna testify to a true, living, almighty, powerful, personal, providential, preexistent God who wants to be known. He puts all the information on the bottom shelf so you and I can access it. I don't know about you, but I need that bottom shelf. That's where I live. But that's where he's coming. He came from heaven to earth and he's a personal God. He wants to be known. Over in Hebrews 1. So if somebody wants to be known, what do they do? Well, two things, you show up and you speak. If you want to be known, if you want someone else to know you, you're going to show up and you're going to speak. Well, we've been reading about Jesus showing up, but He also speaks. So it says, this is Hebrews 1.1, God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers and the prophets in many portions and in many ways, In these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and He upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they." So Jesus, He showed up. We know that he was born and he grew. And then at about age 30, he began his ministry, a life of ministry, where he revealed the Father, he performed miracles, he taught with such wisdom that people could not, they just could not grasp who he was and the things that he said, coming from such a modest circumstance of life. I mean, there he is, we see him today in our text, lying in a manger. That's where Mary put him. There was no room in the inn. I want you to know God is personal. I want you to listen. Young folks here, we got teenagers, we got all different ages. God wants you to know Him. And that's better than, it's better than just religion and jumping through hoops. God wants a relationship with you. He wants you to know Him. And He's gone to great lengths so that you can know Him. And I pray today for all of us that will have an appetite for God, that we would want to know Him in a personal way. And you can know Him in a personal way. Trust Him. Trust Jesus, this one who was born way back then in Bethlehem. Trust Him as your Savior. He's a personal God. And then, fifthly, and I think I'm pretty convinced we could go on and on and on, but we're going to stop at number five. I think this virgin birth speaks of the love of God. So over in Romans 5, there's a number of passages you can read with regard to the love of God, but we'll go to Romans 5 and verse 6. This speaks of the love of God. So think of all that Christ left in heaven, all that He had known, and then He comes to earth born of a virgin. and he is 100% man, he is 100% God, he experiences what man experiences and all the time as God and never sinned. This speaks of God's love. So verse six there in chapter five of Romans, for while we were still helpless, Hmm. I want to say this. We're still helpless. Some of you need the Lord more than you know. You need to come to grips with your own inability, your own helplessness. So we're still helpless. So while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. So there's no mistake, that's us. We're helpless and ungodly. The Bible tells us that Christ died for us. So this one who was born of a virgin, grew up, conducted his ministry on earth, and then at the right time, he died for you and me. He was nailed to a Roman cross. That cross was prophesied by Isaiah in chapter 53, 700 years before the crucifixion and before there was anything known about a crucifixion. Well, what's the point? We're talking about the love of God. So we're helpless and we're ungodly, but at the right time, Christ died. Paul goes on with this logic. this line of thinking, verse 7, for one will hardly die for a righteous man. And that's the truth. Is anybody going to just offer their own life for even a righteous man? Paul says one will hardly die for a righteous man. Though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. Maybe for a good man, someone in the crowd would dare even to die, to give his own life. Here it is. Verse 8, but God. God doesn't just shout from heaven and say, I love you. He demonstrated that love. There's more than words. God demonstrates His own love. This is His own love. His very own love toward us. So this is a love that emanates from God. This just pours from His heart to us. He demonstrates His own love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, unlovable. Christ died for us. Christ took the nails for you and I. That wicked crowd cried out for his crucifixion, crucify him, crucify him. And Jesus suffered the beating, the humiliation, the mockery at a place called Golgotha. He was nailed to a cross. He was hoisted up. That cross was hoisted up, planted in the ground. And Jesus was the subject of all kinds of mocking and scorning. And even there on the cross, He did not sin. He forgave. He loved. That's what we're talking about. The virgin birth demonstrates the love of God, that He would leave heaven to come to earth, and that He would suffer and die. But that's not the end of the story. We're talking about an all-powerful God. He's not going to leave his son in the grave because on the third day, Jesus rose from the dead and he lives forevermore. And one day he'll return. And when he returns, he'll judge. So many people, they think, well, if there's a God, why would he allow suffering? I got one for you. This God that we love, this Jesus we serve, He came to this earth and suffered like no other has suffered. He knows what you and I go through. I want to encourage you today to trust Him. If you've never trusted Him before, trust Him. If you've trusted Him before, trust Him more. Trust Him more. Lean on Him more. He'll never let you down. And He is the one that we're counting on to take us from here to heaven. And He'll do it because He's true to His Word and we give Him praise. Father in heaven, we thank You for this day. I thank You for the virgin birth. I thank You for the incarnation of Your Son. I thank You for Jesus. Lord, I thank you for the love that was shown. I thank you for the providential working that was shown. Lord, I thank you for the pre-existence of Jesus. Lord, I thank you for his power. I thank you for his love. I thank you for his concern, his care, his desire to be known. And I pray, God, that we would know him to the fullest because he knows us. And he has spoken to us. So we give you praise and we give you glory. And once again, Lord, thank you for this day. Thank you for your word. Thank you for these that are here today, my brothers and sisters in Jesus. And Lord, bless this time. Bless the time of fellowship afterward. We give you praise in Jesus name. Amen.