Inside your bulletin is the call to worship. It comes from Luke chapter 1. And of course, I imagine most of you noticed that the verse on the front of the bulletin is incorrect. That also comes from Luke chapter 1. You did take notice of that, didn't you? Luke chapter 1, this is part of Mary's hymn of praise upon receiving the announcement that she was going to be the mother of the long-expected Messiah. And here in this song of praise, she exalts and rejoices in her great God who has been a God of great mercy towards her. Will you stand with me and let us call one another to worship. with this responsive reading. My soul exalts the Lord, for He has regard for the humble state of His bondservant. For the Mighty One has done great things for me. And with that, now let us take our hymns of grace, hymns of grace, and turn to number 227. 227, angels we have heard on high sweetly singing o'er the plain. And then we sing Gloria in excelsis Deo, which means, you know, I used to sing this all the time when I was little. And I sung those words, and I'm like, I don't know what that means. Well, it means exactly what the angel said, glory to God in the highest. And so we repeat what they have said with the coming of our Lord. 227. Angels we have heard on high Sweetly singing o'er the plains And the mountains in reply Echoed with their joyous strains Gloria in excelsis Deo Gloria in excelsis Deo Shepherds, by this jubilee, By your joyful strains go on. Take off, make the dying sleep, Which inspire your heavenly song. Gloria in excelsis Deo. Gloria in excelsis Deo. Come to Bethlehem and see Him whose birth the angels sing. Come adore on bended knee Christ the Lord, the new-born King. Gloria in excelsis Deo Gloria in excelsis Deo She is in a manger laid, Jesus, born of heaven and earth, Mary, chosen by the way. ♪ Let us sing our Savior's praise ♪ ♪ Gloria in excelsis Deo ♪ Let's pray. Dear Father, thank you that we can meet here today. Thank you for the salvation you offer us through your son. May that be our focus during this holiday season. May we remember his birth. And thank you for the fellowship we can have and the time we can have together with family during this season. And may we be a witness to unsafe family members. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Thank you. Now in the Trinity hymn book, hymn 145, hymn 145, come thou long expected Jesus born to set his people free. 145. you you ♪ Above all extended Jesus, Lord, to set the people free. ♪ ♪ And sin to release us ♪ ♪ Let us find our rest in thee ♪ ♪ This we'll speak in consolation ♪ ♪ After all we've heard so far ♪ ♪ Here is our home ♪ ♪ Lord of everyone we are ♪ ♪ Born a people to deliver ♪ ♪ Born a child, yet yet unhealing ♪ ♪ Born to reign in us forever ♪ To Thou, my gracious King, I pray. By Thy holy Church, O Spirit, Through it all, our hearts are one. ♪ By thy own salvation bearing ♪ ♪ Let it come to thy glorious doing ♪ ♪ Amen ♪ For the scripture reading today will be in Luke 2, 21 through 52. And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. And when the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. As it is written in the law of the Lord, every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord, and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons. Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. And this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel. And the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him according to the custom of the law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace according to your word. For my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel. And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother, behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel and for a sign that is opposed. and a sword will pierce through your own soul also, so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed. And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, and then as a widow until she was 84. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. And coming up at that very hour, she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem. And when they had performed everything according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom, and the favor of God was upon him. Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. And when he was 12 years old, they went up according to custom. And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it. But supposing him to be in the group that They went a day's journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances. When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him. After three days, they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. And when his parents saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress. And he said to them, Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my father's house? And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and men." What a wonderful picture we have of the Lord Jesus Christ. It says here that He grew In wisdom. I mean, he was a baby. He had to grow up. He had to learn math. Can you imagine? The God who created the world and everything in it had to learn math. Had to learn English. Well, not English, but had to learn science and so forth. He grew in wisdom. And in stature. He got bigger. He grew up. You know, sometimes we see the children running around and maybe we don't see them for a couple weeks and then we go, man, you're getting so big. Imagine somebody looking at God who came in the likeness of man and saying, wow, you're getting so big. You're becoming a big boy. And he grew in favor with God and with man. That's the Lord who came to be our Savior so that we might know the forgiveness of sin and be found right. with him. Well, as we go to prayer this morning, we do want to pray for Pastor Bala. Most of you know Pastor Bala labors in New Zealand, but he has quite a schedule with Tamil-speaking people. And so this past few days, he's been in Malaysia and teaching. I think there was 12 times in three days at a family camp. And then today, he's preaching at a church there in Malaysia. So we want to pray for him and that ministry. And then also for the Perkins, who right now are in Missouri, longing to go back to Indonesia, but waiting and seeing for God's guidance and direction in their own lives as to whether or not it would be wise for them to return or not. So we want to pray for them. that God would give them direction over these next few months with regard to their future. Let's pray together. Our Father in Heaven, how thankful we are for Your Son and our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank You that He was willing to be fashioned to the likeness of men. Thank You that He came to this earth, leaving all the glories of heaven and coming down to a broken world and living here among men as a man. We thank you for the very reality that though he was tempted at every point like we are, yet he was without sin. He lived a perfect life. He lived a sinless life. Father, we bless you for that, for that makes him a perfect sacrifice, as He became sin for us, that one who knew no sin, that we might know the righteousness of God through Him. And we bless You that many of us that are here this morning have known of that reality, have received a righteousness which is not our own, but a righteousness that comes to us through Your Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ. And yet, Father, there may be some who sit among us and some who no doubt are in churches throughout the county and around the world who do not know you. And how we pray that today you would open eyes, unplug deaf ears, and by your grace bring them to faith and repentance, that they might even be added to the kingdom of God. Father, we're thankful for, again, the opportunity of praying for the advancement of your kingdom, not only right here at home, but around the world. Thank you for Pastor Bala. Thank you for the energy and strength you give to that man as he labors, not only there in New Zealand and taking care of the Sovereign Church there in Auckland, But then, as father, you've given him many opportunities to minister to Tamil-speaking people. And we pray that this past few days at the family camp were very beneficial for all those who were able to attend. We pray that our brother had good health and was able to preach on every occasion which he was asked to preach, and that, Father, much fruit will come from his ministry And even this day, as he labors to minister the Word of God there in the church, we pray that you would bless that as well, draw near to them. And then, Father, we pray as well for the Perkins, for Philip and Abigail, and how we pray that you will give them guidance and direction. We pray that, Father, as they deal with some things on a personal level, for their relationship to one another, that, Father, you would do them good. We thank you for their desire to have a marriage that is well-pleasing in your sight. And so as they work through some things, we pray that you would give them guidance and direction. And even with regard to their future in Indonesia, we pray, Father, that you will surround them with wise counselors who will be able to assess whether that would be a good thing or perhaps they need to wait longer. But Father, we just give you thanks that their priority is to have their family in order. And so we pray your blessing upon their effort in doing that. Again, we would ask that you would be with those who are not with us this morning. For some, it's because of illness and affliction. For others, there are other things going on in lives. Father, how we pray that you will draw near to them. May you, Father, minister unto them. Some may be watching by way of livestream. We pray that our time together would be beneficial for them. Father, we ask that the Spirit of God would come and do a work that only He can do in bringing the Word of God to be that living Word that has an effect upon how we live in this world. So draw near to us in our time together as we ask these things in Christ's name. Amen. Now before we come to open the Word of God, take the hymns of grace once again Hymns of Grace, turning to 223, the first Noel, which speaks of that birth, the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 223 in the Hymns of Grace. Let's stand together as we sing. God's birth child, three angels did say, Thus her children foreshadowed in fields as they lay. In fields where they may be bleaching, On a cold winter's night that was so deep. Well, well, oh, well. Noel, Noel, for it's the King of Israel. Leila, Leila, And saw a star shining in the east, beyond them far, and to the earth with a great light. And so it continued through day and night around. Noel, Noel, Noel. Born is the King of Israel. ♪ Like the dancing star ♪ ♪ The one who took it from the tree barn ♪ ♪ To see for fear, but there it went ♪ ♪ And to follow the star, there it went ♪ Noel, Noel, Noel, Born is the King of Israel. ♪ Then let us smile with all our heart ♪ ♪ Sing praises to our heavenly Lord ♪ ♪ Good and great have we heard so far ♪ Thank you, DC. Over the past few Lord's Days, we have been looking together at the Old Testament Scriptures that give us the assurance that God is going to send a Messiah into this world to be the Savior for His people. We've looked at Genesis chapter 3 and verse 15, and there we have the first promise that the Messiah would come. He would come by way of the seed of the woman And when he comes, he would crush the head of Satan. And then we went on and considered what Isaiah prophesied concerning the coming of this Messiah. And there in Isaiah chapter 9, Isaiah's prophecy focuses our attention upon the identity of this one who was going to come from the seed of the woman and crush the head of Satan. And Isaiah tells us, a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us, and the government will rest upon his shoulders. So Isaiah says he will be human. A child will be born, a son will be given, but he will be divine in his sovereignty, and the government will rest upon his shoulders, and he will be identified in this way. He is the wonderful counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace. And then last week, We came to another one of those prophecies. And at the end of the day, there are well over 300 prophecies in the Old Testament concerning the coming of the Messiah. Now, that would be a series of messages, wouldn't it? 300? It would probably be the last series of messages I would preach if we were to go over all of them But as we came to Malachi 5 last week, we are assured that this one who would come from the seed of the woman and would crush the head of Satan, this one who is identified as a child born, a son given, who is a wonderful counselor, a mighty God, an everlasting Father, and a Prince of Peace, this one will be born in Bethlehem. Micah reminds us, is going to be one who will come through the labor born of a woman. And he would come and be a ruler, but what kind of ruler would he be? And Micah tells us, he will be a shepherd ruler. He will be a ruler who loves and cares and protects his people, his children. And he will bring about peace. for his children. So all these prophecies concerning the coming of the Messiah from the seed of a woman who's a wonderful counselor and a mighty God and everlasting Father and Prince of Peace, this one who will be born in Bethlehem, who will be a ruler of his people as a shepherd, has been promised and then 400 years of silence. Here's the promise. Here's the prophecy concerning that promise. And then 400 years. And I tried to come up with an illustration that would cause you to think back 400 years. But at the end of the day, that's a long time. It's before George Washington for us. 400 years of waiting to hear from God, of looking for this promised Messiah who would set up a kingdom and rule over that kingdom, who would have a people that He loves and cherishes and protects. When is He coming? And there's silence. But after that 400 years, God speaks again. And here in Luke chapter 1, starting in verse 26, we have one of the three times within a span of perhaps a little over a year that God will once again speak through His angel. And so starting in verse 26, we read these words. Now in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to the city of Galilee called Nazareth to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph of the descendant of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And coming in, he said to her, Greetings, favored one, the Lord is with you." But she was very perplexed at this statement and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. And the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will call his name Jesus. And he will be great. And we call the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will have no end. We'll stop our reading there this morning. As we come to this passage of scripture, we have Dr. Luke sharing with us the events that transpired that night. And perhaps being a doctor, he gives us some detail concerning the event of Gabriel speaking to this young woman by the name of Mary. And there are three points of detail that he gives to us in the section of Scripture that I just read in your hearing. The first detail has to do with the messenger sent. The second detail has to do with the message recipient. The message recipient. And then thirdly, there is the message announced. Those three details. is that which Dr. Luke would have us focus on in this passage of scripture. So we come to the first one. The messenger sent. Now as I mentioned a few minutes ago, in the span of about a year, God had sent messengers to earth to speak on his behalf. The first messenger, after 400 years of silence, the first messenger appears to Zacharias and speaks about the birth of his son John. At a time when it looked like Zacharias and Elizabeth would have no children, they were past that time of age, the angel comes and says, you will have a son. And you remember the story. Zacharias is shocked. Really? And because he sort of doubted things, he was made so he could not speak. And he would not speak again until John came into this world. That was the first time. The second time is here in the passage that I just read in your hearing. And then the third time comes to us when the shepherds saw the angel. There in Luke chapter 2, and there the announcement comes concerning the birth of the Savior. So three times in that short span after 400 years of silence, God sent messenger to speak on his behalf. And so as we think of that first focus, the messenger sent, there are three things I want you to notice with me about that messenger. First of all, notice with me the origin. The messenger's origin. Where does he come from? Well, look at the text. Verse 26. Now in the sixth month, sixth month of what? Well, it's the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy. We just got, if you read through the narrative, Zacharias and Elizabeth's story is set before us, and now we read, and in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was what? Sent from God. All that is about to take place finds its origin in the work of Almighty God. This is God's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes. I believe next week we'll look at that verse that says, in the fullness of time, at the exact time that God had planned from all eternity, God sent forth His Son. And at the exact time that God has planned, God sends Gabriel, an angel, to speak to Mary with a message. Which then leads me to say something about the messenger's identity. The messenger's identity. He's identified as an angel. We read that here in the text. Now in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel. We find him earlier there in verse 19 of chapter 1. The angel answered and said to him, I am Gabriel. I think there are two angels mentioned in the word of God by name, Michael and Gabriel. God had a message. And he sends a supreme messenger with his message. Gabriel, we know from Daniel, existed in the presence of God. And now God sends him to earth with a message. J.C. Ryle says this, one thing at all events about angels we must never forget, they take a deep interest in the work of Christ and the salvation which Christ has provided. the song of high praise when the Son of God came down to make peace by His own blood between God and man. They rejoice when sinners repent and sons are born again into the Father in heaven. They delight to minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation. Angels have a deep interest in the work of Christ. And here, Gabriel comes with a message about what God is about to do in bringing a Savior into this world. So we see that the messenger's origin is he was sent from God His identity is that he is an angel, a messenger. Angel has the idea of a messenger. Remember there in Hebrews chapter 13, when we're told to practice hospitality, for in doing so, you may show kindness to angels that you're unaware about. An angel means that of a message. And whether the writer of Hebrews have literal angels in mind or whether or not, and I believe what he has in mind is, as you minister to people, even to strangers, they may come with a word of encouragement and help to you that you weren't expecting. You thought you were ministering unto them and they minister unto you. That's what angels do. But here, God sends one of his angels. with a message. So we see his origin, we see his identity, but also we see the messenger's appearance. Where would God send this angel? And we're told here again in the text, to a city in Galilee which is called Nazareth. Nazareth, of all places. Much like we said last week concerning Bethlehem, Nazareth is a very insignificant place on the map. It's not a major city. It's a remote corner of the country. It's not Rome. It's not Jerusalem. It's Nazareth. And Nazareth has a bad reputation. Remember, in John chapter 1, the question is asked, does anything good come out of Nazareth? Really? Nazareth? But again, that's how God operates. He takes the weak things and makes them mighty. He takes the small things and exalts them. That's the work of God. And so the angel comes to the city of Nazareth. So there we have the messenger that is sent. But then secondly, notice from the passage, the message recipient. The message recipient. We are given information about the one that Gabriel is sent to. And he's not sent to a king. He's not sent to men of great providence and wealth. He is sent to a young woman. Probably in her teens. Now, Luke gives us information about this woman. The first thing we note is her status. Her status. Again, looking at the passage. He's sent to, verse 27, a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendant of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. So the messenger is sent to a young lady who's never been with a man. She is a virgin. She has never had a relationship with a man. And it's interesting that in verse 27, did you note, Luke tells us that twice in the one verse. Twice. He emphasizes that reality. To a virgin, engaged to a man, and then later on down, the virgin's name is Mary. There's a point of emphasis here. This is not another woman. This is a woman who is a virgin. Why is that so important? Because way back in Isaiah's day, probably 700 years before this takes place, Isaiah says concerning this prophet who is going to be born, behold, a virgin shall be with child. Now that statement is puzzling. A virgin will be carrying a child. And I only wonder, for those 700 years when people talk about, you know, there is a Messiah, and he's coming, and how's he going to come? Well, you know, he's going to be born of a virgin. What did you say? He's going to be born. of a virgin? Did you really say that? Maybe you haven't had that talk with your parents yet. That's an impossibility. It doesn't happen. But that's what we're told. And so now, hundreds of years later, there is this young lady who is visited by an angel who knows her true condition. She knows she's never been with a man. And she's told, you're going to be with child. And is it no wonder that we read When she heard these things, she was perplexed. And we read, she was thinking these things over. What does a virgin think when she's told, you're going to be with child? How can that be? But Luke emphasizes that reality. So we see her status. She's a woman engaged to Joseph. She is a virgin. But secondly, we're told her name. For virgin's name is Mary. Mary. I know a few Marys. Her name means exalted one. You have found favor with God. Think about it. of all the people, of all the women who were alive on this occasion, God chose a woman from Nazareth. Can anything good come out of Nazareth? And he chose a virgin, and he chose this teenage girl whose name is Mary, who had been highly favored by God. Highly favored by God. Of all the women, God says, that one. And sent Gabriel, go down and give her this news. Mary was a young lady. like every other young lady, which means this. She was a sinner. And she needed a Savior. She needed a Savior. And Mary was very aware of that reality. We read there in her song, If you look over to verse 47 of Mary's hymn after receiving this news, notice what she says about herself. My soul exalts the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in what? In God, what? My Savior. Mary knew, though some people seem to be ignorant of this fact, Mary knew she needed a Savior. So we've seen her status, and we've heard her name. But then thirdly, notice her reaction. Gabriel speaks a word of greeting, which Mary finds perplexing and wondering what kind of greeting this was. Greeting, favored one. The Lord is with you. Think about that. Gabriel says to her, the Lord is with you, and soon, He doesn't say this, but soon the Lord will be in you. Think of that. The Lord is with you. And perhaps Mary is most complex because of what we've already mentioned. She truly understands her true condition. And yet, it says that you're a favored one of God. I mean, think about that for a moment. When God saw this young lady who, yes, was a sinner, but was a woman of faith, He says, you are a favored one. In Daniel, in the book of Daniel, when Gabriel is sent to Daniel, Gabriel says to Daniel, by way of greeting, he says something along these lines, you are highly esteemed. I remember when I read that. Here's a messenger sent from God who comes to Daniel and says to Daniel, Daniel, you are highly esteemed. Now, why do I find that so amazing? The angel was not speaking for himself. This isn't the angels. Well, I've watched you a little bit here, and you seem to be a good fellow. This was a messenger sent from God who knows us all together and says concerning Daniel, you're highly esteemed. And now he says to Mary, you are highly favored. And as I think about that, I wonder, if God sent a messenger to me, what message would he have? Would God say, in my presence, you are highly esteemed? I know you're a sinner. But I know you to be a man of faith who's trusting in my son. And in you, I am well pleased. What would be said of us by God Almighty I mean, there's a point of me in which I think if God just greets me, says, hey, brother, OK, good enough. But if he'd say something, you are highly esteemed. I'd almost think, you really don't know me. But he knows me altogether. He knows my faults. He knows my sins. He knows my failings. But yet, when he sees his son. and he sees an individual that is pursuing holiness and godliness, he's able to say, that's one of mine. And that's what he says to Mary, and Mary's reaction is one like most of us would be. What? How did this happen? Favored one means greatly graced. Out of all the women God could have chosen, princesses, wealthy and the influential, He chose an unknown, humble girl who loved God from an obscure city called Nazareth. Wow. Doesn't God operate so differently than we do? Well, having seen the messenger sent, the message recipient, notice thirdly, the message announced. The message announced. And as we listen to what Gabriel says to her on this occasion, Luke tells us there are four features about the message he wants to emphasize. Four features about the message he wants to emphasize. It's a message about a son, a child. It's a message concerning the one mentioned there in verse 31. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son. Well, who exactly is this son? Well, Gabriel goes on and speaks about who this son is. And he emphasizes these things. First of all, he emphasizes the son's birth. The son's birth. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son. This is a supernatural happening. She will conceive a son, but she's never been with a man. How did this happen? Well, we won't open it up in detail, but notice verse 35. Because Mary asked, how can this be? For I am a virgin. In verse 35, the angel answered and said to her, the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you, and for that reason the Holy Child will be called the Son of God. God can do the miraculous. God can do the supernatural. In fact, later on, Mary will say, nothing is too hard for God. As we read this morning in our call to prepare our hearts to worship, nothing is too hard for God. God can take a virgin and conceive in her womb A son. A son. And we're told that this son's name would be called Jesus. Now, it's a fairly common name for that day. In the Hebrew tongue, it was the name Joshua. And many Jewish parents named their children Joshua. In the Greek, it's rendered Jesus. And so while the name is somewhat common, the child to whom it was given is not. His name will be Jesus. Jesus means Jehovah is salvation. I mean, most of us, when we had children, we had the opportunity to pick out their names. Nobody came to us and said, this is what you're going to name him. I mean, when I was born in this world, I've told you this story before, my mom didn't even have a name picked out. She was having twins. And she was going through a rough period. Not soon after that, my parents would get divorced. And so my mom said, I don't want twins. I will not have twins. So she went to the hospital with one set of clothes and one name. And whether she liked it or not, I still appeared. And just to finish the story, to tell you how hard it was, whatever she was going through at that time with regard to her marriage and everything else, I asked her sometime later, why? You had Kenny picked out. Why am I Calvin? Where did you come up with that? And she said, It rhymes. I said, Mom, Kenny and Benny, Calvin and Alvin. But Kenny and Calvin don't rhyme. She goes, well, I guess it didn't. But at the time, I thought it did. But she got to pick that name. Mary's going to have a child, and guess what? She didn't get to pick the name. She's told his name will be Jesus. And although Mary did not fully understand all that she's being told, she hears for the first time the name Jesus, which will be the name above every name. It'll be the name at which one day every knee will bow. And every tongue will confess. His name will be Jesus, for He will save His people. He will be the one who will one day die on a cross for the sinners. And He will be that one who is the way, the truth, and the life. And no one will be able to come to the Father but through that name. You shall call His name Jesus. He would die on a cross and be raised from the dead and ascend back into heaven to guarantee salvation for everyone who trusts in Him. Thank God for the day. that Mary is told, you will be with child, you will call His name Jesus. Because He came to be a Savior. And you know what's most sobering about this time of year? Is the fact that the whole world is caught up with Christmas. And the whole world looks at manger scenes and says, what a cute little baby. And never give any thought that one day that baby will be their judge. And give no thought to the reality that for many he will say, depart from me. I do not know you. So we see the Son's birth. Secondly, we see the Son's life. He will be great. That seems to be an understatement. That word great is where we get our word mega. Mega. Supreme. Extraordinary. Magnificent. Mary is told that Jesus would manifest the glory of God like no other. That people would see the attributes of God displayed clearly in your Son. He will be great. That leads us thirdly to the Son's uniqueness. The son's uniqueness. Mary is told that she would become the mother of a son, but this son was no ordinary child. He will be her son. Therefore, he will be human. You will have a son, but he will also be God. He will be called the Son of the Highest. He will be a man, but He will also be God. And that's what is prophesied there in Isaiah. It's the message of the angels to Joseph in Matthew 1 and verse 23. This was the most profound moment of all time and eternity. This moment when God becomes flesh and finds Himself in the womb of a woman. God in the womb of a woman for nine months. In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God, and the Word was God. God humbled himself and came to earth in the likeness of man, fashioned after a servant. This is God. When Jesus was conceived in the womb of a virgin, the plan of the ages moved out of eternity and moved into time. God himself, robed in human flesh, came into this world to die on a cross to save a people from their sins. So we've seen the Son's status. We've seen the Son's life. And we've seen the Son's uniqueness. But finally, we see the Son's authority. His authority. Mary is also told that this Son, this saving Son, This One who is the Son of the Most High will also be a sovereign child. A sovereign child. He would rule on the throne of David. Thus fulfilling the prophecy given to David over a thousand years before. There in 2 Samuel chapter 7. He would be One who rules over the house of Jacob. And thus fulfills the prophecies. made throughout the Old Testament. He would rule over a kingdom that has no end. And he will be a ruler like no other. As we mentioned last week, what kind of authority and rule will he have? Will he be one of a tyrant, one of a bully, one of a boss? No, he's a loving shepherd who loves and protects and cares for his own in a kingdom that will never end. My friends, these verses describe the promised child. These verses tell us of that One who would be born of the seed of the woman, who would crush the head of Satan. These verses tell us of that One who is the wonderful Counselor, the Prince of Peace, the Eternal Father and Mighty God. This One tells us of that Ruler who has been promised and now, now, God breaks through and the event in history happens that this woman named Mary has a baby in her womb who is the one who will reign over the house of Jacob forever and his kingdom will have no end. What a wonderful truth. What a glorious gift. And why did all this happen? What motivated God to do this? God so loved the world that he was willing to give his only begotten son. So what will you do with this? What does that mean to you? One time a year, We have joyful carols on the radio. People decorate their houses and whatever. May exchange a few gifts. Is that what it means to you? It means God loves us. Therefore, because He first loved us, we ought to love Him and seek to live for Him. Do you know this Savior? I mean, really, honestly, do you know this Savior? Do you have a relationship with God through Him? I know you've heard about Jesus. But can you say this morning that you've truly trusted Him to be your Savior? This promise was made to Mary, but it's valid for everyone who believes. And when we come to this passage, we're reminded God keeps His word. Though 400 years of silence, God does what He says He will do. And guess what? He says He's coming again. And guess what? We're waiting, and we're waiting, and we're waiting, and we're waiting. And we're like, when's this going to happen? My friend, it will happen. And every one of us will one day not stand before a baby in a manger. We will stand before the King of kings and Lord of lords. Are you ready to do that? I wonder how many cried out for those 400 years, come quickly, Lord Jesus, even as we cry out. Come quickly, Lord Jesus. Let's pray. Father, we give you thanks for the Word of God, the narrative such as this one that we considered together this morning. And we pray that it would not just be a good story, But we pray that these truths would have an effect upon who we are and how we live. Father, how we would pray even this morning, someone sitting among us, I see their need of fleeing to the Savior. He is the only way. There are not many ways. There's only one way. And today, may it be a day of salvation for some. And Father, may many of us this morning have hearts with praise and thanksgiving for such a wonderful salvation that you plan from all eternity and that you saw fulfilled. And Father, as we wait for the coming of Christ again, how we pray that we might be found faithful. Help us. As we ask these things in Christ's name, amen. In closing, take your Trinity hymn books and turn to hymn 170. Hymn 170, thou dost reign on high with a kingly crown, yet thou camest to earth for me. 170. Let's stand together as we sing. ♪ And in gentle and strong worship found the room ♪ ♪ For thy holiness in this year ♪ ♪ Oh come to my heart, Lord Jesus ♪ ♪ There is room in my heart for thee ♪ Oh ♪ There is room in my heart for thee ♪ ♪ The mountains can whisper, the birds can kiss ♪ ♪ In the shade of the forest tree ♪ ♪ But I can't watch as the sun goes down on me ♪ Go down to my heart, for Jesus, there is strength in my heart for Thee. Thou gavest the Lord with the living blood, as He said, Thy people free. Time with God is short, and with doubt abhorred, yet Your peace is out of our reach. O come to my heart, O come, O come, O come, to my heart, O come, O come, O come, to my heart, O come, O come, to my heart, O come, O come, to my heart, O come, O come, to my heart, O come, O come, to my heart, O come, O come, to my heart, O come, O come, to my heart, O come, O come, to my heart, O come, to my heart, O come, O come, to my heart, O come, to my heart, O come, to my heart, O come, to my heart, O come, to my heart, O come, to my heart, O come, to my heart, O come, to my heart, O come, to my heart, O come, to my heart, O come, to my heart, O come, to my heart, O come, to my heart, O come, to my heart, O come, to my heart, O come, to my heart, When in heaven's flashing gleam, men and women shall see, that I'm coming to victory. When my voice coming home, saying that there is truth, ♪ There is thrill at my sight or feeling ♪ ♪ And my heart shall rejoice for Jesus ♪ ♪ When the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit be with me ♪ ♪ Amen ♪ Well, as we're dismissed, I've been asked, be seated for just a moment, I guess. My deacons, our deacons, have asked for a moment. Much to my chagrin, probably, but they've asked for a moment. Your congregation would just like to show our love for you. Patricia, thank you for faithfully opening the door to us.