Let us take our copy of the scriptures and turn to Luke chapter 2. We'll read verses 2, 1 through 14. Luke 2, 1. Now it came about in those days that 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 all were proceeding to register for the census, everyone to his own city. And 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. And it came about that 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 inn. And in the same region, there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terribly frightened. And the angel said to them, do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy, which will be for all the people. For today in the city of David, there has been born for you a savior who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you. You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased. The word of the Lord. You may be seated. Let's bow in prayer, shall we? Our Heavenly Father, as we draw near unto you in prayer just now, it is with a mind of desiring your word to be opened unto our understanding. Father, bless the preaching, that it not be man's wisdom, but it be that in spirit and power. As newborn babes, Father, may we desire the sincere milk of the Word. Father, may it be filled with your truth. And Lord, as we come, may we come full of faith, hearing and hearing the word, as Romans would say, for faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. And so, Lord, may that be our approach. But Lord, you've also given the warning. You've warned of those in the past who the word preached did not profit them because they did not receive it in faith. Lord, as we speak, may it be Your wisdom. You tell us that You speak, Father, in Your Word with mysteries that even the hidden wisdom that You ordained before the world, even that unto our glory. And that none of the rulers of this world, if they had known these things, would have crucified the Lord Jesus Christ. But now, Lord, as we have received, not the spirit of this world like they, but your Spirit, who indwells us, Father, and causes us to be conformed all the more to the image of Christ each day. We pray that we might know the things which are freely given unto us in Christ Jesus. And Lord, in the midst of it all, may we draw nigh unto you in worship, that we, Father, may As the Scripture would say here in His eternal life, that we may know Thee, the only true God, in Jesus Christ, whom You have sent. May it be so, we pray, in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, we come to this very familiar portion of Scripture. Having been in Chapter 1 last week, A week later, nine months have passed. Well, at least in the text. Remember the announcement was given by Gabriel of the impending birth of Jesus Christ. He said that you should bear a son and she objected a bit and said, but how can that be? I don't know a man. She's engaged, but she's not married. And he went on to explain, and he said that this power of the Spirit would overshadow her, described using language like you see in Genesis 1 in creation. And that which was formed in her would be the Son of God. And that he would be great. And goes on to say that his kingdom would have no end. We're here now, nine months later. We read in verse one, that came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. Caesar serving the king of kings. That's my first point. Caesar serving the king of kings. In verses one through three, and maybe a bit of four also. You know in Proverbs 21.1, you all know the verse that says, that the heart of the king is in the hands of the Lord. As rivers of water, he turns it with us, whoever he will. And in Revelation 17, 17, I recall reading there, it says that the Lord has put it, here again, kings, the Lord has put it in their hearts to fulfill his will. And so as we look at this occasion, that's precisely what's taking place. Remember that this is Caesar Augustus, though. Now, wait a minute. This is the first emperor of Rome, Augustus, you know, here talking about one who is, well, virtually divine. That was in their minds anyway. And so here's one who would eventually be hearkened unto as a god. bowing to the one true God, Yahweh, who is above all earthly powers, His name. And so the Roman Empire and divine purpose come together. And so as this decree goes forth from this emperor, he is really just decreeing that which God would have to come to pass. In Isaiah 46.10, you remember that it talks about the Lord And it says there that he has decreed the end from the beginning. Over in Daniel chapter 2, I remember in verse 21, remember that's when Daniel and his friends, you know, were given the test really. Nebuchadnezzar said, I dreamed a dream. They said, okay, tell us what it is. Or the other guy, the main Magi, tell us a dream and we'll interpret. Oh, no, no, no, no. You tell me what I dreamed. Now there's a test. Remember, the only ones who could do it were going to kill all of them. Remember Nebuchadnezzar said, I'm going to wipe you all out. Daniel asked for time to pray, and they prayed, he and his friends. Remember the Lord gave him the answer, here's what the dream is. And there were four parts to it. And it was this head of gold, you know, on the shoulders and everything, of silver, etc., going all the way down to the feet. And so you had these four things that were shown, and there in that verse 21, Daniel says, Lord, you're the one who raises up kings and brings them down. And it goes on to describe these four kings, these four parts, which represent four kingdoms in succession. The first one, of course, would be that which is Babylon. The next one would be Medo-Persia, and then finally Greece, and then ultimately Rome. And it talks about in that verses 44 to 45, if you want to look it up in Daniel 2, it talks about this during the time of that last kingdom, in the time of these kings. It says that, and it described it, remember, the way the picture was, that there was this great mountain, you know, and a stone that was cut out without human agency, without hands, rolled down that mountain and shattered that image to the winds. And he says, during that time, that fourth kingdom, the Lord will set up a kingdom, and that kingdom will have no end and will fill the earth. And so when we're looking at what the power of God can perform, we see the irony or the futility of this one Caesar Augustus with this divine title, who's really made to bow to the will of God unknowingly. But that brings me furthermore to the verse three here, where we look at the travel to a hometown for taxation, for census. He had declared the census would take place, the purposes of which were for conscription, bringing people into military, but especially with the Jews who were excused from military service, it was for the purposes of taxation. You know, we have a right to your money. And that's what Rome declared. And so God's means of fulfilling his purposes in moving this couple down to Bethlehem at a right, at a perfect time, at a specific things that are going to begin to occur, he had this census or this taxation decreed. And so what happens is it's a perfect time, as I said. Why? Well, because this is while they're down there that Mary goes into labor and gives birth to the child, maybe Jesus the Christ. Furthermore, it is, you know, quite a trek, moving all the way from Nazareth of Galilee, which is up in the north part of the country, all the way down into the south central part, which is Bethlehem of Judea. And so you've got about a 70 mile trek. Now understand, we think of 70 miles, oh that's nothing. You know, I'll get in my car, my truck, and I'll be there in no time. But remember, this is going by foot, or going with a donkey, and going over paths that go up and down a very hilly area that they're going through, and in many parts that are rather arid, and things that are not always so easy to traverse. And so here they make this 70-mile trek from Nazareth to Bethlehem. You know, I remember a reading of Joseph. Remember Joseph's brothers, how they treated him? You know, and they sold, remember Joseph was sold into slavery by his brethren. At first they wanted to kill him. They threw him in a pit. You remember that story. And they sold him to the Midianites who were taken to sell him in Egypt as a slave. And so they got him out of their hair, and they had to fool dad, and they killed an animal, tore the cloak he had, you know the story. But at the end of all of it, you know, God had a purpose. All of that evil, that sin, that hatred, and everything that the brethren had, God used that to move all of the Israelites down to Egypt. And there you would have ultimately the Exodus redemption coming out of Egypt and Christ. And it says, out of Egypt I've called my son. But there's more to it I wanted to point to and that is in Genesis 50 it says, when the brethren after Jacob had died, Israel had died, They talked to Joseph and they said, Dad had said, you know, you got to keep us in good health, you know, and he said, you know, relax. This is Lelden's modern translation. Don't be fearful. And he says, You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good. And so as we look at what's occurred here, you know, the taxation, exploitation of the people, you know, and these were impoverished people, and this was a tough time and a tough place. You know, it doesn't matter their intentions. They meant it for evil, but God is the one who meant it for good. And so we rest in the arms of a sovereign God. And so Caesar was serving the king of kings. But secondly, we see David's heir in Joseph and Mary, verses four and five. David's heir. Here in verse four, remember it says, Joseph also went up from Galilee out of city of Nazareth into Judea, the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David. Now, Joseph was the adoptive father of Jesus, wasn't he? The legal father, if you were to look at his position. If you consider he was not the biological father, obviously. Let's turn to Matthew 1, just real quickly. You all know it well. It won't take but a moment. Matthew 1, verses 20 to 23, it says this. Remember, Joseph discovered that Mary was pregnant, and he was going to put her away privately. He didn't want to publicly shame her or maybe cause her harm. Here in verses 20 to 21, we find It says, but while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream saying, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you, marry your wife for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. and she will bring forth a son, and you shall call his name Jesus." Or in other words, Yahweh saves, or his savior. For he will save his people from their sins. So all this was done that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the Lord to the prophet, saying, behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which is translated God with us. back to Luke 2. So here he took her to his wife and remember that it was while they were betrothed this was a legal document it was binding and it goes on to say in there in that same chapter that he married her but he did not have any relations with her until after the birth of Christ. We already saw in Luke chapter 1 that it was of the Holy Spirit, like it said there in Matthew 1, that Jesus was conceived in the Virgin Mary. And so we find here a Savior King. according to covenant promise, according to what God had prophesied. You know, here in Luke chapter one, if we look at verses 68 and following, right next to our column here, it says, blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people. He's raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant, David. For he spoke by the mouth of the holy prophets who have been since the world began, that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us to perform the mercy promise to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant. We've covered the covenant promises of God many times, but from the garden, remember, after the fall, it said there, the seed of the woman shall be the one who will crush the serpent but in the process his heel would be bruised. And so the whole point here is that You find the covenant promises unfolding. You see the promises reiterated and strengthened with Noah, where it covers the whole creation. With Abraham, in your seed, shall all the nations of the earth be blessed. With Moses, it talks about God's standard of righteousness and the picture of all the types and the shadows of redemption and of reconciliation and of atonement and of thinking of everything involved with the priesthood and with the tabernacle and God's presence among his people and on and on we could go. God promised a new covenant. He says, not like the one I made with them in the past where I led them by the hand and they broke it, but he says, a new covenant they will not break. Why? He will write his law, not on tables of stone, but on their heart and mind. Not like the one they broke, but he says, everyone will know me who's part of the new covenant. Why? because of an internal work by the Spirit, but also because of the way that one ends. He says, I will remember your transgressions, your sins no more. Full and final redemption. And so anyway, as we think of The promise here of a savior, of a king, of one who is Christ. This is all fulfilling the Davidic covenant, the one I passed over. And that is, there'll be a king. 2 Samuel chapter 7 verses 12 to 16, where it goes on and talks about, the Lord says, of you, of David, of you, I will build a house. And this one will have a kingdom that will not have an end. And so the promises that were made there are fulfilled in Christ. You and I were reading, in the response of reading, Psalm 2. In Psalm 2 it talks about the Lord has established His anointed on Zion. Remember what the word for anointed is in Hebrew, Mashiach, or Messiah. It means the one who's anointed a prophet, or a priest, or a king, or in Jesus' case, all three. He's a king, but not just any kind of a king. He's a king priest. He mediates the rule of God over his people, but he also mediates the forgiveness of sin of the people in behalf of the people to God. He is the one who is the Word of God, and so all the Scriptures are about Him. And so as we look at this put together, we see the promises of God all converge, all come together. And in Psalm 2, remember what we read? In Psalm 2 it says, I've set my King on my holy hill Zion. And he says, I will declare the decree the Lord said to you, you're my son. Today I have begotten you. Ask of me, I'll give you the nations for your inheritance and the ends of the earth for your possession. You see, beloved, here it comes onto the stage of history, of salvation history, and the covenant promise is fulfilled. We read there in Matthew 1, the promise out of Isaiah 7.14, you know, when Ahaz, king of Judah, was being attacked by Syria and by the king of Israel together joined alliance to try to wipe out or take over, remove him and take over Judah. The Lord says, ask me a sign, I'll give you a sign. He says, I'm not going to test you. He says, you're testing me now. Here's the sign I'll give you. And he gives him this promise. The virgin will conceive and bear a son. And so anyway, the promises were in David, and we find that Joseph was of the legal line of David, and the angel announced nine months before that it would be to this woman that he was engaged to, and he took her as his wife. And so Joseph and Mary bowed to the will of God and his promises, and they took the journey. They were married, and they took the journey 70 miles to Bethlehem. And in Bethlehem, the fulfillment of the promises of where Messiah was to be born were fulfilled. Micah chapter 5, verse 2. It's quoted there in scripture in Matthew chapter 1, for example, of the fulfillment of that promise. And so you have Mary betrothed, this virgin legally married to Joseph in the line of David. And so under the form of the Jewish law, according to Joseph, he would be in the line worthy to receive David's inheritance. And in terms of the Romans as well, she's registered with Joseph. And so once again, the child under Roman law would be eligible to be the heir. Put him either way, registered before God. This is the one who fulfills the promises. All of those covenant promises, yes and amen, in Christ Jesus. You know it's interesting just in passing in Hebrews chapter 1 verse 2, it talks about Jesus Christ as heir of all things. Colossians 1 15, it says that Jesus Christ is the firstborn, the heir of all creation, things visible and invisible, all created by him for him. And then in Romans 8, remember that verse 17, where it says, you and I in Jesus Christ, we are joint heirs with Jesus Christ. And so, beloved. David's heir in Joseph and Mary. So here's Jesus Christ, the rightful king, to take the throne of David. It was promised in Luke chapter 1. Remember that to Mary when Gabriel made the announcement of her conception. We see that God sovereignly ordains these things through Caesar's decree to bring them there. And so thirdly, we see the virgin birth, a rendezvous with destiny. Yes, I stole that from a famous speech, but it drives home the point, doesn't it? Here they have arrived at exactly the right time when she will go into labor. I know a lot of you ladies, or maybe you haven't, but I know my wife anyway. It got to a point where she said, I am so ready to have this baby. And you go through all these things, you're hoping, you know, let's go for a ride. Maybe that'll help the baby come along. You got any kind of nonsense that comes along to your mind, you know, and nothing will make the child come before God is ready for that baby to be born. You say, what about inducing labor? Okay, but they didn't have that then. And so at the specific time, it says here in verse six, the days were completed. Over in Galatians chapter four, verse four, it says it in a similar way. It says, but when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who are under the law that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you're sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying out, Abba, Father. Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son. And if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. And so, beloved, as we think of this born in the fullness of time, born in God's timing, perfectly timed. It was while they were there in Bethlehem, not born in Nazareth or on the way. And as you can look in Luke chapter 1, remember there was six months before Elizabeth was the one who became pregnant with a child. Here she was advanced in years and always thought to be barren. Then God miraculously causes her to have a child six months ahead of Mary. And remember everything that's said about that child, the child who would become John the Baptist. We don't have time to track it all down, time is fleeting, but as you read through the scriptures, you find that in Matthew chapter 17, for example, and chapter 11 also, you find that Jesus said, remember there was a prophecy in Malachi chapter 4, where it says that one would come ahead of Messiah, the one, the forerunner, would prepare the way, like Isaiah 40 says, you know, prepare you the way of the Lord in the wilderness, as he would preach, you know, as recorded in Matthew 1. And so as we go through these promises, Jesus says, the disciples asked Jesus, I thought Elijah had to come before Messiah. And Jesus said, Elijah did come. He did come, but people would not receive him as such, at least the leaders. And he goes through and describes things of how John the Baptist is the fulfillment of that prophecy. And so God also prepared the way by giving this prophet who would declare the way of the Lord before him, the forerunner. You know, here in Luke chapter 1 verse 76, it says, you child, speaking of John, who would be called the prophet of the highest, you will go before his face, the face of the Lord before his way to give knowledge of salvation to his people. by the remission of sins, through the tender mercy of our God, with which the dayspring from on high will visit us, to give light to those who sit in darkness in the shadow of death, to guide our feet in the way of peace. And so, beloved, God gave all of these things lining out and happening at the right time, and as we've already pointed out, the time of the Roman Empire is when this would occur. It was at this time, remember, read Hebrews 1, read Acts 2, where Christ is seated on His throne and has poured forth His Spirit. Or read Hebrews chapter 1, where it says, now, once, at the end of the ages, you know, we think of His sacrifice that He made, or furthermore, we see that God spoke in Hebrews 1.1, God spoke in many times and places by the prophets, but He's spoken to us in these last days in a son. And so here, God's Word speaks in a son. In verse 7, it says here, 2-7, she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn. Brought forth, born. If I were to have a show of hands here, Unless somebody here is half asleep and I catch them off guard. If I were to ask you, how many of you have been born? You would all raise your hands. Natural for us. That's the way we humans come into this world, you know. As we think of the natural processes, you know, it says God knits us together in the womb. And you know, we're fearfully and wonderfully made and all of that. But we still realize we have a mother and we have a father, a natural mother and a father. But this is the I am. In John 8, 58, Jesus says, before Abraham was, I am. The one who spoke out of the burning bush. The one who is self-existent. The one who is independent. This is the one, Emmanuel. God with us. He was brought forth, born. An incredible act of humility. You see, the person, the second person of the Godhead, of the Holy Trinity, God the Son, took on flesh. Just think of this, I'll read Philippians 2, and obviously I don't have time to deal with it in detail, but if you want to follow Philippians 2, verses 5 and following, It says, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. To be humble, in other words. Now listen, who being in the form of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation. taking the form of a bondservant and coming in the likeness of men, being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. He goes on to talk about, therefore God has highly exalted him and given him a name above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of the Father. And as you read all of that, did you catch anything about that last part? It quotes Isaiah, and that says, every knee shall bow to, in the Old Testament, capital L-O-R-D, Yahweh. That's who he is. He existed and was existed in form, God. He added to himself the form of a human. And he remained fully God and yet became fully man. It says for a reason he did these things, this self-humiliation. It says here that he took the form of a servant, first of all, to serve. And furthermore, it says he humbled himself to obedience, in other words, to obey. Fulfill not my will, but thy will be done, O Lord. And dependence, furthermore. Think of this baby in a manger. You have a baby who's dependent upon parents to provide. He took this to the ultimate degree to fulfill all righteousness and the temptation in the wilderness. Remember this? Like in, you know, Matthew 4, for example, or something. And you read there where this temptation was, turn these stones into bread by the Satan. Remember that one? It probably looked just like bread. You know, if you're really fasting 40 days, it looks just like bread, you know. And you look at that and he says, turn this into bread. Now what was he supposed, why was that wrong? Why was it wrong to do it? Well, listening to Satan for one thing, but the other thing is to be dependent upon the things of this world, of the flesh, to eat, to sleep, to do things like that. He says, man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord. In other words, I've come to do my father's will. Anyway, and it says also for suffering of death. Beloved, I've heard so many times that people say that Jesus came to set a beautiful example of sacrificial love. Sure. That Jesus is a moral example, that Jesus is someone who shows reveals God, it shows reveal God true. And. They say, well, it was because of man that he couldn't stand it, you know, that it's for some reason he didn't like Jesus and they killed him. And so God went to plan B. There is no plan B. This is why he came. Jesus Christ came to die. And he didn't come to die in just any way. It says here, even obedience to the suffering of death, death on a cross. In other words, an ignominious criminal execution in behalf of guilty sinners. The one who's innocent being put to death in our place. That's why he came. The substitutionary atonement of Christ. And furthermore, the one who would rescue us from the death and the curse, condemnation, and that we, united to him, would have everlasting life, forgiveness, and a new creation. I was reading in Joseph Piper's book, The Root and Branch, and he was explaining this idea of the hypostatic union with Christ, we call it. In other words, fully God, fully man. Let me just read this, if I may. We maintain that he has a fully divine nature. In other words, all the qualities that make God, God. He also has a truly, a true, fully human nature. All the qualities that make man, man, but without sin. We also insist that he has one distinct personality. Get this, one distinct personality. He does not have two personalities. He's not schizophrenic. sometimes slipping into his human personality, unaware of the divine, while at other times he's assuming the divine, unaware of the human. He is one person and has one personality. The universal, or excuse me, unifying aspect of his personality is the second person of the Godhead. The second person of the Godhead, the eternal Logos, entered the personal union with the human nature. created from the genetic structure of Mary. Just as our material body never existed apart from its personal union with our soul, so Jesus' human nature was immediately brought into union with his divine person. And his human nature never had a separate personality of its own, but from its origin was governed by the personality of the second person of the Godhead. Did you get that? So when we look at him, we see the fullness of the Godhead, as I've said many times. Colossians 2, 9. We see the fullness of the Godhead in bodily form. And fourthly, I want you to notice, in verses 8 to 14, the humble witnesses to the divine king. It says, now there were in the same country shepherds living in the fields keeping watch over their flocks by night. I'll have to just skate over the surface of this, but don't miss what it's saying. Humble shepherds in the fields at night, like a king, In other words, a king is someone who gathers and leads and protects a flock. If you were to look in the Old Testament, especially if you track down a couple of the Hebrew words, as well as even a couple of places in the New Testament, you'll find the word shepherd used for a king. In fact, if you go through the scriptures, you find that there were, in redemptive history, there was Abel. Starting with Abel, remember there was a first martyr. He was what? A shepherd. Or you can go through the patriarchs and you think of patriarchs or even prophets. Think of Moses. There's Moses gone to the, how did he go to the burning bush? He was tending the sheep in the wilderness and he saw the burning bush, et cetera. And what did it do? Prepare him to do what? Shepherd an entire nation in the wilderness. And we know kings were also shepherds. Think of David himself. Remember what it says in Psalm 23, the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. Jesus in John 10, Jesus says, I am the good shepherd. And we could go on, I like Isaiah 40 verse 11, read it later. But there Jehovah is speaking, Yahweh is speaking. And he says, I will shepherd my people. And he says, I will take their lambs in my arms. And I will be tender to them and love them. and I will be the shepherd." Who else would be more appropriate to be the audience that he would announce this wondrous thing to but humble shepherds? There he's being laid in a manger, beloved. Laid in a manger, the Lord of glory laid in a manger. Isaiah 57, 15, remember what it says? The Lord who is high and lifted up, He dwells in unspeakable eternity and glory. He also dwells with the humble and contrite of spirit. And so we find it here. Furthermore, in verses 9 through 11, we see this heavenly messenger and heavenly message. He talks how the Lord's glory illumined the place around the shepherds when this angel appeared. Those in darkness suddenly saw a great light. And furthermore, in verse 10, we find the message. Notice that the message is to all people. It's not just to Israel, but it's to every people, every nation, tribe and people and tongue. This gospel and this king and this Lord is for every class. There are no age boundaries, both sexes, male and female. He is the one who sends his message of redemption to them. And it says he's born in David's city, a savior. Christ or Messiah, the Lord. Well, you know, the rest of it, it says that the heavens were filled then suddenly with the rest of the angelic hosts. This is all the hosts of heaven. Can you imagine? We've talked many times about, you know, Revelation 5, where it says when Jesus had accomplished redemption. And there's this scroll that the Lord has with seven seals. Who's worthy to take the scroll to break its seals and ransack heaven and earth and beneath the earth? And no one is found worthy. And John weeps. He uses a word there in the original that doesn't mean he sheds a tear. It means he weeps. And he says, wait, there's one. The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Lamb of God, has overcome. And so it is they sing this anthem of peace and salvation. And all of heaven adds their voices to the song. That's what happened there in Revelation 5 too. It says all the angels bowed, the cherubim bowed, the elders bowed, and all the redeemed around the throne bowed and sang his praises. Beloved, worship him. The call to worship and the call to faith and the call to bow is for you and me today, too. That's what happened. And by the way, the impact is no less powerful and real today. Remember what it says, the gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God to salvation. Why? Well, because it's of God, but also because of this, and because of him. so beloved. Don't fall into the, go astray and follow the ways of this world who turn this time of thinking of Messiah and the incarnation into some trivial pursuit of But this must be a time, a reminder of the one who is Lord of lords, King of kings, who's come and is coming again. May that be on our lips. May that be in our hearts. May we be on our knees extolling him for it. May God grant us the grace for it. Amen. Let's pray together. Righteous Father, may we know of what we have read, what has been preached. Oh, good news of a great joy, most certainly. For there is not many ways, as the world would say there is, but there is one way to be saved from sin and death and condemnation, and that is only through the Lord Jesus Christ. And as was declared what we've read in the scripture today, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. And so, if we have bowed the knee and confessed with the tongue Him as Lord, There is, therefore, now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free. But, O Lord, we pray, if there's any of us who have not believed, who have not believed the promises of the Bible written that you've given us, We've stiff-armed it or not believed it. We pray that today is the day that you would write, not upon a heart that is stone, but a heart of flesh, that we may come to our senses, escape from the snare of the devil, and believe that Jesus Christ is Lord. To the glory of you, O God, we pray. In Jesus' name, amen.