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How are you doing friends? And welcome back. We're going to continue to look at the birth of Jesus, Jesus being here with us. And we're going to continue. Last week it was God's promise and now the promise of the birth of Jesus Christ is what we're going to talk about, being that this is the season. First, let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for being with us. Let your word speak. This is our prayer. In Jesus name. Amen. Joy to the world. The Lord has come. Let the earth regain his King. Rejoice his King. Hark the herald, all the angels sing. Glory to the newborn King. These are the songs and gestures that are said during this time. But the fact of the matter is, as I said, God's promise is kept. The promise of the birth of Jesus Christ. And we're going to see that as we go through these chapters and these verses. So first we're going to look at Matthew 1. Well, actually let's go back to Isaiah 7, 14. As it was prophesied, therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and he shall be, and he shall call his name Emmanuel. So again, as we said, this was prophesied. That behold, a child will come. Jesus will be born of a virgin and you call him Emmanuel, which means God with us. Now we're going to go to the actual birth of Jesus Christ. And we're going to go to Matthew 1, 18 to 23. It says, Matthew 1, 18 to 23. Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise, when, as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph, her husband, being a just man and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privately. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not, fear not to take unto thee, Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son and thou shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. Now, all this was done that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet saying, behold, a virgin shall bring with child and shall bring forth a son and they shall call his name, Emmanuel, which is being interpreted God with us. So as we've read in Isaiah, here's the fulfillment of it. And as it talks about, it says, Joseph being a just man. So it says, Mary was exposed to Joseph, betrothed, which means engaged. But the thing is the engagements were a little bit more, as you would say, in depth than how they are now. Joseph and Mary, the way the arrangements were done in ancient times, and it's still in some places, it's still done this way, as we're going to explain, was they were many times were arranged marriages. So Joseph and Mary were actually legally married, but they were not living together. And they didn't, the actual marriage ceremony hasn't been done. So they didn't, they weren't living together. They hadn't slept together. In other words, to compensate the marriage, that hadn't been done, but legally they were married in the sense that she was, that's why it says bethrothed to him. So it was an arrangement many times with the young girl, as well as the boy, at a young age where they would arrange for them that they're planning on being together and they're going to get married. So the man would make sure he has things set in place to take care of this woman that's going to be his wife. And when they're bethothed, he was already taking care of her. He was already making sure all her needs were provided for. So that's why it says it was legally his wife, because he was taking care of her, even though they did not live together. And even though they hadn't compensated their marriage, they hadn't, as they would say, have sex the honeymoon, they hadn't done that yet. That was the last part for the actual, if you want to say ceremony to say, okay, now you're married in the fullness of it. But they were still, the way it was done, legally married. So she was connected to him and he was connected to her, but they weren't in the same living together. So he was taking care of her. This is why when he heard that she was pregnant, he wasn't, he was kind of concerned because it says that. Now, as it pointed out, the angel told Mary that she was with child. And as she said, I am a virgin. I haven't had sex with any man. So how can I have a child? But as it was prophesied, the Holy Ghost came into her to bring forth Jesus. That's why when you read earlier in Matthew, we're not reading it right now. When it goes through the genealogy of who Jesus is showing, because David and Mary were from the line of David, when it gets to a certain part, but actually we can read it. We'll read it to show it shows that when you look at it, it gets to, and Jacob versus Matthew one, verse 16, Matthew one, verse 16, and Jacob begot Joseph, the husband of Mary, whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. So if you read the other verses, it says like in verse 14, it says, and Ezra begot Zadok, and Zadok begot Achim, and Achim begot Elam, and Elam begot Eliezer, and Eliezer begot Matthew, and Matthew begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Joseph, the husband of Mary, whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. Now, when it gets to Joseph, it doesn't say Joseph begot Jesus. It just says Joseph was the husband of Mary, whom was born Jesus Christ, is called Christ. And that's why when it goes to verse 13, now the birth of Jesus Christ was on the wise, when as his mother Mary was exposed to Joseph before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. So all this prophecy was being fulfilled. And Joseph, when he found out that Mary was pregnant and he knew he'd, he was not the quote unquote, the biological father, it says he was a just man because they were legally married in their engagement. When things like this had happened, she could be, they would bring her in front of a, basically like a tri-bone. She could be humiliated. In some cases they could execute her. He did not want that to happen. This is why it shows he was a just man, who his character was. He said, if they have to break up, he's going to do it quietly so that way she could still live. She could still have a life. This shows you that when God picked Mary, as well as Joseph, he picked the characters of people to be the earthly parents. And that's what he still does with us in terms of our work and our witness. He wants to build in us a character to be witnesses to others, to show who Jesus was. So when Joseph was going to do this, because remember he had not known, the angel came to him in a vision, in a dream and told him everything's okay. Neither one of y'all did anything wrong. She is expecting the child of Jesus. She's expecting to bring forth Jesus, the prophecy, because they had been studying the prophecy of the savior coming. This is why we read about Mary had gifts, thanks. At one point she said, who was she to be the one to carry Jesus? But as God says, that's why she said, blessed of all, I'm blessed of all women. But God shows you, he sees in us what sometimes we don't see in ourselves. And the beauty of it, God sees that in every single one of us because he wants us to be saved. So let's keep on going. So Joseph was reassured everything was okay. And then he went and they made the marriage official. So now they were officially married. Now we're going to go to Luke 2, 1 through 14. And it came to pass those days, this is Luke 2, 1 through 14. And it came to pass in those days that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. And this tax was first made when Cenarius was governor and all went to be taxed, everyone into his own city. And Joseph also went up from gallery out of the city of Nazareth into Judea onto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem because he was of the house and the linkage of David to be taxed with Mary, his exposed wife, being great with child. And so it was that while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothing and laid him in a manger because there was no womb for them in the end. And there were in the same country, shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them and glory of the Lord shone round about them. And they were so afraid and the angel said unto them, fear not for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you. You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothing, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel, a multitude of the heavenly hosts, praising God and saying glory to God in the highest and on earth, good and on, and on earth, peace, goodwill towards men. So here we see that after Joseph, after the announcement was made to Mary, and she was carrying the baby Jesus and the announcement was made to Joseph. Remember it was prophesied that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem and Mary and Joseph, Joseph and Mary were both from Bethlehem, but they were living in Nazareth. That was the town they were living in. That's why later it says Jesus of Nazareth, because that's where he grew up. But it also said he was going to come out of the town of Bethlehem. So how does that happen? Well, here we see, this is how it happened because of the taxation that was put on the people. They had to report back to the area that they came from, which was Bethlehem. And here's where Joseph was going back. And many times it was just the man that had to go to represent certain things, but they went together being that she was expecting the child and they were together. So they went together again to fulfill the prophecy that was set that Jesus was going to be born in Bethlehem. So here they went together, but she was basically about to have the child. So we think about it, you know, they're going, traveling, because this is not cars back then. This is, she's on a donkey. He's leading the way. She's, you know, coming close to the due date. And here's the thing, even though they were from Bethlehem, obviously they hadn't been there in a while because there was nobody for them to stay with. And when they came to the end to see if they can get some room, there was nowhere for them to stay. And it shows you how the devil will try to do everything to keep God's truth from being fulfilled and to keep from people being saved. You would think from a humanitarian standpoint that when they came to the end, when they came to the hotel and all these places, that when they seen, because Mary was basically going through her contractions in terms of labor, but yet there was no room, there was no compassion to show, to help Mary and Joseph at that time. So he said, no, I don't have no place for you, but you can go in the back in the barn. And this is the thing, you know, when you see these little pictures of how, you know, he's in a manger and things of that nature, and it looks real cute, but he, Jesus was born with animals. He was literally born homeless. If you really think about it, this was in a barn with animals. No child should be born that way. We see with the homeless and things of that nature. And that's how Jesus was born and his parents weren't destitute. They clearly were not rich, but because of their circumstances, the devil got into the hearts of men to keep humanity to being shown. But yet God shows that he comes from the bottom to raise us to the top. He came down from heaven so he can bring heaven to us. So here they had to go in the manger and here, as what it says, they made it as sanitary as possible for Mary to have Jesus. This is the case where we see the child being born in the manger. So yet still God's truth was still going to be carried out, but it didn't end that way because as it says, as this was happening in the country, there were shepherds abiding in the field, keeping flock. So just like how the prophecy was being fulfilled for Jesus to come, people were still looking for it. Even though many had turned their backs on the truth and did not want to accept the way Jesus was coming, there was always faithful people. And here we see it is with the shepherds. They were in the fields, tending their flock, tending their sheep, doing their duty, but they were still waiting to hear about the prophecy of Jesus coming, the fulfillment of the prophecy. And once you're looking for the truth, God will bring the truth to you. That's what it says, seek and you shall find, knock and the door shall be opened. Because they were digitally looking, God came to them. The angels came and told them that Jesus is going to be born and where he's going to be born. When you look, God will give you the resources to find where the truth is. God will bring us to the truth. This is where we see that no matter, it doesn't make a difference what walk of life you are. As long as you seek out for the Lord, he will be there to receive you and he'll bring that truth to you. And that's why it says in Luke 2, Luke 2 verses 8, and there were in the same country, shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came unto them and the glory of the Lord shone round about them and they were afraid. And the angel said to them, fear not, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people, to the whole world, for unto you this day, in the city of David, a savior, which is Christ the Lord. And he, and there shall be a sign unto you. You shall find that they were wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger in the barn with the animals. And suddenly there was a, with the angel, a multitude of heavenly hosts, praising God and saying glory to God, the highest and on earth, peace, goodwill towards men. So yet Jesus might've been born in the most humble conditions. His, his glory was still shown when the angels came and the host of heaven sang about his coming. So let's you know, that's why it says when one person gives their soul to the Lord, the angels of heaven, there is a joy, not just the angels, the whole heavenly host rejoices when there's one soul that gives their heart to the Lord. So even you could come from the worst situation. When you give your heart to the Lord, there's a rejoicing in heaven. And that's what we're talking about. We see here when Jesus was born, even though the circumstances might've been at the lowest point, there was still an announcement in heaven and rejoicing. We go to Luke 2, 15 to 20. It gives it even more broader. And it came to pass as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, let us now go even onto Bethlehem and see this thing, which has come to pass, which the Lord had made known unto us. And it came and they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying, which was told them concerning the child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things, which were told, which were told them by the shepherd. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned glorifying, praising God for all the things that they heard, had seen. And it was, and it was told onto them. So the angels and the shepherds went out to tell everybody of the coming of the Lord, that he had came. That the fact that Jesus had fulfilled the fulfillment of prophecy had come true, that he was born and he was, he was born and what they had talked about, what they had read about, what, uh, what God had promised was being fulfilled. And this is why the truth cannot be hidden. The truth, the joy of the truth goes to be shared with everybody. The glory, um, the splendor, um, no words can explain the joy that Jesus was coming, the fulfillment of prophecy. And it's just good tidings, you know, evangelizing to everybody that Jesus has come, that the beauty of Jesus has come, the Christ, the Lord has come. The shepherds could not be content until they had seen for themselves the promise on confirming the words of the angels. So as soon as the angels told them, they were like, we got to see this for ourselves. In belief, they wanted to see this for themselves. It was, it wasn't even possible for the shepherds to hide it anymore after they said they had to go tell everybody that the truth has been fulfilled. Jesus has come, um, he's come, come to share that truth with us, that he's come to save us. And as we know, when this, when the shepherds went to tell, obviously the priests, the elders, all the higher ups heard about this. And so his news of his coming, the news of the fulfilling of Jesus coming wasn't just hidden. The world knew about it. It's just whether they accept it, like the same thing. We go and tell the world about the truth of Jesus. And it's up to each individual to come to the realization of whether they believe it or not. The truth is there. It's just whether you want to accept it. Jesus wants all people to accept it because he loves humanity. He wants humanity to be saved, but it's still a choice that has to be made. But when we see this goodness, we want to share with others. And this is the beauty of the birth of Jesus. This is the promise that was being fulfilled. The promise that he said he was going to come, the promise that he said he was going to save us from our sins, the promise that he said that nothing was going to keep him, keep him from bringing us back to salvation. Nothing was going to do that. And he promised it and he fulfilled it by coming on this earth. You know, one of the things that we read about is the beauty of him coming to save us. The incarnation of Jesus is, you know, is one of the most unfathomable miracles. How could this have happened? You know, the form of, he was the form of God and ordained by the heavenly host seated on the throne of the universe. He was in heaven, but yet the king of glory chose to give up his scepter into his father's hands that he might for a little while be lower than the angels to save us and to bring us back to his home, his fold. This is why, this is one of the mysteries that we can't understand. You know, he came down here and to be crowned with glory and honor. So the mystery of incarnation is one thing, but what surpasses the mystery of the incarnation is the condescending love that prompted it. So it's one thing we can't understand how God could come down and take in the form of a human being as a baby and be born without any type of sexual intercourse. That's one thing. But the other thing is his love for us that prompted him to do this. Because when you look at what, he knew exactly what he's going to have to face when he came down here. And it's one thing to know, it's another thing to go through, but he knew what he was going to have to go through to save us. And he was still willing to do this. This was the love. That is the more mystery that why would he do this for us? To say he loves us, but to understand it, it's like he did this and came down as promised to be with us. That's the beauty. That's why they say when we get to heaven, the joy of God's love will be a constant, will be constantly learning to see how beautiful his love was that he did this for us. And this is what the promise of his birth really is, that he came down from heaven to give us a chance to be saved, to give us the ability to be saved, to give us the ability to be back with him. The promise of the birth of Christ, of Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of our salvation for him to bring us back into the fold of salvation, that we can live with him forever. This is what he promised and he fulfilled it by coming down here and dying for us. Now we didn't get to his death yet. We just talking about right now when he came to be born and he came, he fulfilled this. And regardless of the time, we understand that he wasn't born on December 25th. I mean, the shepherds were in the field, so it couldn't have been in the wintertime. Most of the time it was between April to October. That's the timeframe they believe that he probably was born, between that frame of those months that he was probably, most likely that's where he was born. But the fact is he was born. He came down here and he died for us. So the truth was that he came. Now we know because all the other pagan beliefs, all the identities were born on the 25th of December. And when Christianity was cloaked with paganism in terms of the Roman, the Roman Rome took on papacy and it used that as a leverage in order to connect the heathens with the truth. We see where that confusion comes about. But the point is you don't have to worry about that. We don't have to mix error to bring people to the truth. Just tell people the truth and they'll leave the error and want to be connected. Like I said, when the shepherds heard they were looking for it and they went to go see him and they spread the word. When Mary was told, well, she clearly believed it because, but the fact that he picked her to carry the, to be the, to conduit, to carry Jesus. When Joseph was told, he believed. And the same way as we see with the others, when they see it and they hear it, they believe it. And even before they believed, that's why they were able to accept the truth. And takes them to the temple and, um, the, the priests in them see him. They see it's the truth, Simon, the old man, he sees it, old priest, he sees him and he sees it's the truth. So these things are evidence to show that if you believe God's truth will sustain you and carry you forward. And the beauty is that he had this promise that he was going to come and bring salvation to us. He was going to come and make sure that we have an opportunity, a legitimate opportunity to be saved. The truth that he had for us, he was not going to let it be taken away. The love he has for us, he was not going to let that to be taken away where we'd be lost. He was determined to say that you all going to be back with me, that this humanity, you're going to still be with me because we were supposed to be together forever and nobody's going to separate that. I'm determined to keep us together forever. And that's the reason why Jesus came. So we can always be with him together. And even though in this life, death may separate us, but it's separate us, but it only separate us for a moment because long as you die with the love of Jesus, with the truth, he has you waiting in his bosom. So when he calls on that great resurrection day, that great getting up morning, you will be saved. You will rise when he calls you. So that's the beauty of that we will all be together with him. So he came, the birth of Jesus Christ was promised. He came, he brought salvation to us. And that's why when you hear the song Handel's Messiah, it says, and he will reign forever and ever. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. And the beauty is we'll be able to live with him and reign with him forever and ever. His glory, his truth will reign forever and no one can take that away from you. And we will be able to be in the midst of that joy with him forever and ever. The joy to the world, the Lord has come, that earth receive his King and the earth receive his King. And as long as we receive his King, we'll be with him. And that's the joy we have of the promise that Jesus came and was born. And on that note, let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for keeping your promise. And Lord, we just ask you to help us to keep our promise when we commit to you that we can be saved. This is our prayer in Jesus name, Amen. See you again next week.