And it started because of that girl and her response I often think of the irony of that experience God used a young woman who was incapable of physical maturity. To provide the means for me to teach the truth of God that provides spiritual maturity. God never ceases to surprise and amaze me. We do have an awesome God can I get a witness in there. Today I want to talk with you about the importance of growing strong in the Lord. In each of the 1st 3 messages from 1st John I have reminded you that there are key words that help us understand John's thinking. I have tried to do this in such a way as to in some way communicate a little inductive Bible study along the way for instance in the 1st message the importance of knowing the key words were born of God and when we had then if I had the 5 passages where that phrase was found we discovered the 5 tests that help us to know we are Christians in the 2nd message the games Christians play we identified the phrase if we say which is found 3 times in the early verses of chapter one and those words identify the things we sometimes say that are not true about ourselves and John tells us what happens to us if we do that in the 3rd message trust and obey we discovered 2 phrases which helped us to unpack God's truth those 2 phrases are found in verses 3 and 5 of chapter 2 if you mark him in your Bibles you will see by this we know him and by this we know that we are in Him Now these phrases help us to see John's purpose in all of these sections now we come today to 1st John Chapter 2 verses 12 to 14 and once again there are some key phrases let me read those verses as you follow in your Bible I write to you little children because your sins are forgiven. And you for his name sake I write to you fathers because you have known him who is from the beginning I write to you young men because you have overcome the wicked one I write to you little children because you have known the Father I have written to you fathers because you have known him who is from the beginning I have written to you young men because you are strong and the Word of God abides in you and you have overcome the wicked one now if you have been following the logic of key phrases you shouldn't have any trouble picking out the 6 statements that are almost all alike I write to you I write to you I write to you I have written to you John is emphasizing now some truth that he wants us to understand and he wants us to know that there are some places of growth along the highway of the Christian experience and so he is going to write to us as if we were representatives of 3 different groups in the body of Christ please hear me these phrases children young men and fathers are not about our chronological age they're about our spiritual age John's talking about children in the faith in fathers in the faith in young men in the faith these are not gender sensitive this is not just about men this is men and women men as used in a very generic way to describe each of us individually it's a matter of spiritual growth that John wants us to see now watch the little children are the newborn babies in Christ the young men are more developed Christians who are strong in victorious in spiritual warfare and the fathers are those who have the depth and stability of right Christian experience having walk with God for many years now these descriptive terms remind us men and women that the Christian life is never to be static We are always to be concerned about growing and maturing this was certainly a dominant theme in the letters that were written to the churches of the new Ted. The many pistols for instance Paul wrote to the festival only ins on one occasion and this is what he said to him and Thessalonians 13 we are bound to thank God always for you brother as it is fitting because your faith watches this grows exceedingly and the love of every one of you abounds toward each other Paul wrote to the Thessalonians and he said I'm so excited because your faith is growing and your love is abounding you're getting better and better here moving forward his concern for the iffy jps caused Paul the a possible to write these words visions for 15 but speaking the truth in love may grow up and all things and to him how many of you know it's good for Christians to grow up sometimes you wish some of them would get going with the process would you please grow up. And Peter spoke about the importance of growing on at least 2 occasions and 1st Peter to to he said his newborn babies desire the sincere milk of the word What's the rest of it that you may grow thereby and Peter's swansong the last words he wrote before his death 2nd Peter 318 this is what he said but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to him be Gore both now and forever the writer the book of Hebrews catches the theme of spiritual growth when he writes in Hebrew 61 therefore leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ let us go on let us grow up let us go on to maturity not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works in faith toward God so I hope I've established the thought that in the Bible God wants us to grow yes we're born into the Christian family as babies but what a sad thing when you've been in the family of God for 20 years and you're still a baby and there's not a pastor I know that I haven't discussed this with on occasion of the trouble that comes to a church because people never get out of the spiritual nursery. They don't grow like the little boy who fell out of bed one night in his father ask him how did you happen to fall out of bed he said well I guess I. Well asleep too close to where I got in. You know less what happens to a lot of Christians they fall asleep right after they get in and you never hear from them again unless they're acting like a baby wanting their own way. Now I want to take you through this passage of Scripture these 3 verses and I want to show you all 3 of these groups and how interesting Lee unique they all are and how every one of us here is in one of these 3 groups if we're Christians and let me just say if you happen to be new born in the family of God You just came to Christ you shouldn't be upset about being a child that's what you should be and so all of us just need to find our place and see what God wants us to learn from this 1st of all he begins by telling us that as little children we are known for our fellowship with God This is found in verse 12 and at the end of verse 13 he says I write as you little children because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake and I write in to you little children because you have known the Father. In the last days newsletter letter that Raven Hill tells about a group of tourists who are visiting a picturesque village who walked by an old man sitting beside a fence. In a rather patronizing way one of the tourists asked him Were there any great men born in this village the old man replied No only babies. And only babies are born you don't get bored great you don't get born grown up you just get born a baby came in. Now here are 2 words that John uses for children he uses one word in verse 12 the word technique which emphasizes the relationship of a parent and its child kind of the newborn baby and the 2nd word ISP idea it's about the child's role under discipline now these little children have been forgiven John says that's one of the things that's very true if you're a new born in the faith what do you think about all the time hunt for Kevin God forgave me one of the fox that just overwhelms you when you become a Christian is the realization that you've been forgiven go back in your Bibles up to the 1st verse of the 2nd chapter and notice that he uses this little children phrase again he says Lou children these things I write to you so that you may not sin and if anyone says we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous when you're a little baby when you're a spiritual Babe one of the things that overwhelms you is the realization of your forgiveness of sins you sort of live in the vapor of that I've been forgiven. And the special privilege for children is relationship notice these little children have known the Father they've come to know their father these are the earliest conscious experiences of the new born Christian he rejoices in his forgiveness of his sins through Christ and He is just so aware of his fellowship with God you know used to take God's name in vain now God his friend he used to use the name of the Lord in a bitter curse and now he's the dearest friend in this life this child this little baby in Christ has come to understand his sins are forgiven and he knows God I mean what a thrilling thing. And in fact in the New Testament we are told that one of the phrases we use when we are close to God is a phrase called Aba father Romans 815 and 16 says for you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear but you receive the spirit of adoption by whom we cry out Aba father now what is the word Alba it's I don't want to get frivolous about this but it would be similar to our word Daddy Aba and daddy are kind of contemporary words and so the little child who's born into the family of God has a relationship with his father like we have a relationship with our father would were little children we call him daddy we're dependent we're constantly coming with our needs the little child in the family of God's aware of his sins being forgiven aware that he now knows God and intimately involved in his personal relationship with God as a young boy is to his dad. The special purpose for children is that they begin to grow my friend in Van Wert Ohio had a little girl who grew physically but couldn't grow it any other way she could not mature emotionally or mentally. She could not take care of herself it was a sad thing she was confined to a life where growth. Was impossible in the important parts of who she was now the Bible says that if we're Christians and we start out as babies that's Ok Just don't stay there you have to grow notice 1st Peter $22.00 it says as newborn babies desire the sincere milk of the word that you may grow thereby If you're a little baby you need to get the word and get the milk of the word and get growing 1st growing since 31 into Paul's writing to the Corinthians and he says to them as a brother and could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal as to babies in Christ I fed you with milk not with solid food for Until now you were not able to receive it and even now you're still not able. 1st Corinthians 1311 the great passage on love Paul wrote when I was a child I spake as a child I understood as a child I thought as a child what I became a man I put away childish things it's important when you become a Christian to be comfortable with having the opportunity to be a child but you don't want to stay in infancy you want to grow and you grow by the Word of God So the special purpose of children is to grow strong now there's a special problem for children to and this is very interesting once again go back to the Scriptures and you'll find a little children addressed verses 18 and 19 the 1st John to put it this way Little children it is the last hour and as you have heard that the end of Christ is coming even now many in a crisis of come by which we know that it is the last hour they went out from us but they were not of us for they have been I wish they would have continued with us they went out that it might be made manifest that none of them were of us 1st John 37 says it this way Little children don't let anybody deceive you. If Eason's for 14 is a Burke clear passage that says that we should no longer be children what are children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the trickery of men in the coming cracked innocent deceitful plotting now watch carefully what John is saying is this children are vulnerable they are born into the family of God They know their sins are forgiven they understand who God is they delight in all of that but they haven't been taught they don't have any understanding of the Word of God And so if we're not careful they can be picked off by those who are out trying to destroy their faith I've had this happen several times since I've been in the ministry where someone came to become a Christian I believe they were generally born into the family of God but because they could not get into follow up they could not get into discipleship and grow somebody came along with a false doctrine or a cult and pick them off and they were lost for years to the kingdom of God. John says it's all right to be a child because it's a wonderful experience to know you're forgiven to know that you've got a daddy. And to know that you're Ok but be careful because your special problem here is that you can be vulnerable to those who would come to deceive you now notice he comes now to his 2nd category he's talked 1st of all about infancy in the church infancy in the congregation now we're going to kind of take this a little bit out of order is the way it is in the text or we can take it in chronological order let's talk about the young men as little children we're known for our fellowship but as young men we are known for our fighting and I mean that in a good and positive sense notice versus 13 and 14 in the middle of the verses I write to you young men because you have overcome the wicked one I have written to you young men because you are strong in the Word of God abides in you and you have overcome the wicked one now let's talk about the special privilege of the young men in the family of God What is that what their special privileges their young and burrow and strong and they overcome the young men are busily involved in the battle of Christian living is you get to a place where you're no longer a spiritual babe and you move into the next phase of your life as a Christian you discover the wars that you fight as a believer you begin to get involved in the issues of temptation and purity the Christian life is not just enjoying fellowship and forgiveness it's also about fighting the war. The forgiveness of past sins has got to be followed by deliverance of present sins and justification is always followed by sanctification it is in the early years of manhood that the decisive battles of life are faced and they're either one or they're lost that's true for all of us chronologically but it's especially true in the church it is during that time that we have all these conflicts between the spirit and the flesh and it is a very intense war when the heat of passions is most intense and the outcome of the struggle will be reflected in our lives from that moment on. No wonder Paul wrote to young Timothy and I think he was thinking both spiritually and physically when he wrote this word 2nd Timothy 222 he says Please also youthful lusts but pursue righteousness and Peter said the same thing beloved I beg of you as Sojourners and pilgrims abstain from fleshly loss which war against the soul I find it really interesting that when I tell people we're at war as believers they look at me with a blank stare you know I'm not a war my friend if you are at war you may not even be a Christian I don't think it's possible to be a believer and not be at war in your heart there is an enemy out there who's trying to destroy you there's an old nature that didn't get eradicated when you were saved that's in there trying to undermine everything that God does so one of the positive signs that you're a believer is that you're going through some of the struggle and you don't need to be comfortable being in the struggle but be aware that your is going to have one until you get the glory you're going to win most of the battles as you go along but you're going to have some struggles I have them you have them we all have them. So Paul is saying you start out as a baby Namrud with forgiveness and then you become a young man and now you're involved in the wars of the Christian faith. The special privileges young man is overcoming and the special purpose for young men is to know that word now how do you fight the war you just don't go out in your own strength of you do that you're not going to be victorious you're going to be a victim you will not be a champion you'll be a casualty. If you fight in your own strength but notice how carefully John has preserved for us this truth go back and read again what it says I write you young man because you have overcome the wicked one now the 2nd time he says I have written to you young men because you are strong and the Word of God is in you so how do you overcome the wicked one you overcome the wicked one who is Satan through God's holy word Philippians 413 says I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me now these young men are strong in the Word of God because the Word of God is strong in them. You don't get strong in the Word of God by bringing your Bible to church work or throwing it on the back of your seat. Until next Sunday you get strong in the word by letting the word abide in you richly and begin to develop some resources in the Word of God. That's a good place to stop because that will cause us to think about what we just heard and how we become strong in the Word of God by letting the Word of God become strong enough. You know friends one of the things we have learned is that we have a responsibility to the next generation and one of the great things that's happened here over the last several months is the release of the airship Genesis children's Bible the study bible has been so well received and we now have another product for children it is the Children's to 52 week inspirational devotional called mission quest here is a curriculum for 52 straight weeks for parents especially those of you who may homeschool your children you can get the details at our website I have a copy of the sitting on my desk here in the studio it's gorgeous It's a beautiful presentation but once again inside is the Biblical content to help you 2 weeks from today and Merry Christmas to you happy make a moment Monday I'm to Arden hope be a good weekend and you know it's a time of the year that you're probably most likely to witness acts of kindness I was in Walgreen's this weekend and I overheard a mom saying to her little boy now I'm sorry we can't we can't get that we can't get that tree because I have to buy some food and so I got what I needed and I was in the checkout. Mine and the mom and her son were a couple people in front of me and an older gentleman that was between us when they got to the to the clerk he said you know what I would like to buy that Christmas tree for this little boy and it was just such a heart warming as soul moving experience to see that happen the little boy was so thrilled acts of kindness are so powerful wherever you go what ever you do be kind make it a wonderful Make a moment Monday change the world one act of kindness at a time I'm Jordan coming up next John MacArthur is here with Grace to You have a great Make a moment Monday. The signs of the season are all around tree lots on bacon corners stores filled with decorations all in anticipation of this joyous season but sadly for thousands of Bay Area families Christmas is just another day as he struggled to pay their rent and put food on the table housing costs in the recent fires have hit families hard forcing them to make hard choices this Christmas the Bay Area rescue mission will provide meals for thousands of homeless individuals and up to a 1000 needy families your gift of $60.00 will provide a family of 5 with meals and help place Christmas toys in the hands of needy Bay Area kids together we can brighten the holidays for needy and homeless families by partnering with the Bay Area rescue mission make your tax deductible gift today at k f a x dot com That's k f a x dot com and click on the Bay Area rescue mission banner that's k f a x dot com. Hold the gifts not up to par lately not scoring well with everyone on your list then check out this holiday deal for rounds of golf at bay area courses just 55 bucks a round each at most Lagos' Diablo Creek Rancho Del Pueblo and Dublin ranch perfect as a standalone gift or give each round as a separate gift to improve your game this year give them what they really want go to Bay Area gift of Golf dot com right now for 55 bucks toting a big area gift of Golf dot com. Here's a renewal in your mind a minute with Dr r.c. School 2. Ladies and gentlemen if God is the creator of the whole world and it's not simply been isolated by a power higher than himself to have dominion and rule over one tiny corner of human life that we call religion but if he's really the creator of the universe and if he is the sovereign ruler over all things that all things find their meaning and their significance as they are related to him the way Professor Cornelius Ventura once said there's no such thing as a brute fact and there is no such thing as a mute. Because every fact is tied creator. And find its meaning and its significance in its relationship to God. For today's special visit renewing your mind. 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Afaics 2000 years ago. The creator of the universe put on humanity the Lord of Heaven came to live on Earth. This child was the Lord Jesus Christ God and man fused together. Bit into visible oneness. You know how it is when you start the car in a wintry morning frosted windows can keep you from seeing what's most important for a while in the same way all the clutter that's surrounding Christmas can keep you from seeing the holidays true significance So today on Grace to you John MacArthur will help you avoid that mistake and thank you for joining us says we're looking at the promise of Christmas John you've taught dozens of Christmas lessons over the years and by way of introduction to this study on the promise of Christmas tell our listeners what is it you come away with as you go through the stories about Jesus' birth each year what aspect of the Nativity Scene consistently amazes you I think with me the miraculous of course dominates the virgin birth of the Lord Jesus Christ the incarnation of the 2nd member of the Trinity does marvelous miraculous realities are in one sense in comprehensible though we understand the truth of them but when I think about the birth story what captures my interest is the fulfillment of so many prophecies and we're going back centuries how did the prophet know that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. How did he know that how did the prophet know that his birth would be humble that he would come like a like a sucker branch's Isaiah $53.00 points that are up a route out of dry ground with nothing about him that would be attractive. How did the prophets know anything about the birth of Messiah. But they did and they did because they were inspired by God Himself God the Holy Spirit who gave them the truth centuries before it came to pass as you read the account of the birth of Christ you connect with many many fulfilled prophecies particularly in the Gospel of Matthew and this is so important because we need to understand that the prophecies of the Old Testament fulfilled explicitly in Jesus Christ are the evidence vast evidence that the author of Scripture is none other than God for he alone can know the future so we're going to be looking at the Christmas story we're going to look at the promise of Christmas verse by verse exploration of the book of Luke and will borrow some from Matthew and put you on the scene at the most momentous event in human history and you're going to see the gospel through the eyes of Christmas the historical setting in which Jesus was born a political backdrop and the personal matters behind his birth I hope this study will set the tone for a Christmas of real worship perhaps one like you've never known before Don't miss this look at the promise of Christmas and it starts in just a moment as John shows you the details of Christ's birth his lesson will add a depth of appreciation to your worship in the coming weeks so prepare for meaningful programs in these days leading up to Christmas and now here's our teacher John MacArthur with a look at the promise of Christmas I would invite you to turn with us to the Word of God Look the Gospel of Luke Chapter 2. This familiar and wonderful chapter that describes the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ surely this chapter is the most widely known chapter in the Bible. Because it tells the story of Christmas and this chapter this story of course has been the source of songs and carols and cards and celebrations and gifts and books and dramas and pageants since it occurred very familiar story and yet I think we're going to be seeing it in some profound and rich and perhaps unfamiliar ways as we come to grips with its great truth 2000 years ago the creator of the universe the eternal God entered human society as a baby the creator of the universe put on humanity the Lord of Heaven came to live on Earth on a night like every other night in Israel with no fanfare no celebration by anybody a child was born it was a night like any other night but it wasn't a child like any other child this child was the Lord Jesus Christ God and man fused together in indivisible Oneness this birth was so monumental that it became the high point of history the peak the apex all history before this birth is b.c. Before Christ all history since his a.d. And oh Domini Latin for the year of our Lord the birth of God in human form then is the most important moment in all of history let me read to you the 1st 7 verses of chapter 2 which in plain and simple and clear language describe this great event. 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 1st census taken while curious was governor of Syria and all were proceeding to register for the census every one to his own city and Joseph also went up from Galilee from or out of the city of Nazareth Judea 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 1st born son and she wrapped him in cloths and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the in very familiar words behind these simple straightforward unembellished words of narrative offered with delicacy and reserve unmistakable meaning and significance there is the profoundest event in the history of the world but as I said the story of Jesus is generally familiar to anybody who knows anything about Christianity and many people who vote know very little about Christianity Sadly the world wide celebration of the birth of Christ which is called Christmas has become so cluttered and so confused with paganism and personal indulgences as to obscure the simple clear reality of the birth of God in human form the world celebrates the birth of Jesus in December for all the wrong reasons or the expression of self-indulgence materialism partying social events of all kinds but largely misses the point as we know the real significance of the birth of God in human form is overlooked. Treated trivially overshadowed by everything else that's going on and I suppose it's a fair question to say how can you take such a simple story as we've just read in 7 verses and come up with such a complicated celebration How do you get from the account of Luke and the account of Matthew how do you get from those accounts to what we have today well I'll give you a little bit of history might find it interesting about the middle of the 4th century but at the time of the establishing of the great. World empire of Rome under Constantine the Bishop of Jerusalem wrote to the bishop of Rome and he asked to determine the actual date of Christ's birth Well no one knows the actual date of Christ's birth the fact of the matter is we don't even know for sure the actual year of his birth but the Bishop of Rome sent word back to the Bishop of Jerusalem that it occurred on December 25th by the end of the 4th century that had been accepted by the church was really put into the church of church law became the regularly accepted day to celebrate the birth of Christ most scholars would tell you today if not all of them that the bishop didn't know the day of Christ's birth because we don't know the date of Christ's birth December 25th this purely arbitrary but he didn't do it for purely arbitrary reasons he was a fairly sure rude guy and he had a reason for putting the celebration of the birth of Christ on the summer 25th and here was his reason for centuries before Christ was born the month of December had been an occasion long established and still being celebrated at that time as a pagan festival of significance in fact most boisterous pagan revelries were celebrated in December. It marked the winter and great celebration was held in anticipation of the coming spring everything around was dark and dreary and trees were without leaves and things didn't grow and in the midst of winter they put on these great celebrations for the hope of the return of the sun the return of the strength of the sun to bring back the spring and make things grow and warm up the cold feasting was part of it parties were part of it adorning your house with evergreens anticipating those deciduous trees and plants that would soon bloom they even adorned their houses with mistletoe they exchanged gifts there was a general merry making held at that time of the year by the pagans this was all a part of their traditional pagan celebration and the bishop's idea was now this is such a an orgy this is this is sort of like carnival in our modern world this is the worst of of pagan decadence celebrated the bishop's idea was let's take the birth of Christ and put it on the same day around the same time to coincide with all the ancient festivals and all the wild winter revelries and that way we will bring a sanctifying influence into this celebration and draw the attention of the people away from those things that they are engaged in to more spiritual pursuits and start making them think about the fact that God came into the world in a human form I was a nice thought let's sanctify these celebrations by imposing on the same date a celebration of the birth of Christ Well needless to say that heathen festivities never missed a beat they kept on going at the same pace they were always going at it and the church which frowned on them and wanted to change them finally accepted them. And let them be assimilated into the celebration of Christmas so that today Christmas is a conglomeration of all that is distinctively Christian and biblical and all that is distinctively pagan to the Romans for example this winter December festival this feasting and orgy was called Saturnalia named after Saturn who was the god of Agriculture and he was he who presided over the planting of crops and during the time of celebration of Saturnalia gift giving was the most popular custom that's where we get that from the most common gifts of the Saturnalia were small idols small deities Small Gods replicas of the Roman gods made out of clay sometimes marble and sometimes so over candles were used extensively in their idolatrous celebration and evergreen branches were given to friends to hang on their houses and sometimes trinkets were placed hanging on those evergreen branches for runners to what we know today is Christmas decorations and trees in England it was the Druids gathered to sacred mistletoe and they made to live sacrifices to their many gods mistletoe by the way was venerated by the the English it was venerated by the Druids it was venerated by a lot of pagans in pre-Christian times the Druids for example gathered mistletoe during their December celebration they had some priests that would get a few white clad priests and they would March to a sacred oak tree with a large entourage where the mistletoe would grow and then they would have the chief priest climb the tree he would go with a golden sickle he would cut the plant which would fall from the tree and be caught in a cloth so as not to be defiled by touching the ground. Then 2 white oxen were sacrificed in the mistletoe given to the people to be hung in their homes in Holland there was a favorite saint by the name of St Nicholas this white bearded Bishop of Asia Minor was believed to have appeared around December 6th riding a white horse leaving gifts for good children and leaving switches for the parents of bad children. And he would leave one of the other on the porch the Dutch called St Nicholas sinter Klaus from which we get the derivative Santa Clause Carolyn started in the 14th century along with jesters and musicians and mummers and there's still a Mummers Parade I think it's in Philadelphia now stockings Where did they come from well it was believed in Holland that Saint Nicholas when he was dropping his switches in his good stuff on the porch on some occasions threw coins down the chimney and they just happened to land in some stockings hanging there to dry out of that came the whole idea that Santa Claus comes down the chimney and fills your stocking Well the old bishop might have had a good motive for what he did but it didn't help putting the birth of Jesus Christ on the same day as all the rest of this only serve to clutter the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ with a whole lot of unrelated pagan elements for the moment back to the text for the moment in Luke's history the curtain has fallen on the story of John. The curtain fell on the story of John momentarily in Verse 80 at the end of chapter one speaking of John who was just born just circumcise the child continue to grow to become strong in spirit he grew physically grew spiritually he lived in the deserts or the wilderness the Judean wilderness in the south of the land of Israel he lived there until the day of his public appearance to Israel is public appearance to Israel will be taken up in the 3rd chapter of Luke will meet John the Baptist again as he was known in the 3rd chapter of Luke but we don't know anything about what happened from the 8th day when he was circumcised that his father Zacharias gave the great song of praise that ends the chapter we don't know anything about his life from the 8th day of his circumcision until he began his ministry all the rest is contained in one verse all we know is you grew physically grew spiritually lived in the wilderness that's all we know but all the time we know God was preparing him to be the forerunner of the Messiah to proclaim Jesus as Lord and Messiah so the curtain falls at the end of chapter one on John and we don't need him again until he's an adult the curtain rises in Chapter 2 on the birth of Jesus we've already gone through the birth of John we've already heard the annunciation of the Angel Gabriel to Mary she told him that he told her I should say that she was going to have a child that the child would be born to her as a virgin and that that child would be the son of the most high the son of David he would rain on the throne of David forever and ever His Kingdom would have no end. She asked Chapter one Verse $31.00 to $35.00 How is that going to be since I'm a virgin and the angel Gabriel told her that the Holy Spirit the Most High God the Holy Spirit would come upon her overshadow her and that would be placed in her womb which was actually a miraculous creation of God so that she would become pregnant without a man she then is a virgin and she is ready to bring forth the Messiah the Son of David. The Son of God as we come to chapter 2 in the curtain rises on the birth of Jesus Christ now Luke does a wonderful thing here simple straightforward unintelligible language that's important it's uncluttered it's marvelous and it's clear but as clear as it is and as simple as the language is what's going on here is profound and far reaching now everybody in Israel knew some things about Messiah everybody in Israel knew the Messiah would come and be king then he would come and he would be in the line of David and he would rain on the throne in Jerusalem and he would establish a glorious kingdom for Israel they knew that he would come with a rod of iron the Psalmist to said they knew some things about Messiah and one thing that was absolutely explicit about Messiah was recorded by the prophet Micah in The Little Book of Micah chapter 5 Verse 2 the prophet Micah said the Messiah would be born in a village called Bethlehem originally in Genesis $35.00 called Ephrata but came to be known as Beth left him which means House of Bread the Jews all knew that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem at least that's what the Old Testament said Well Luke in writing this passage never quotes Micah he doesn't refer to Micah but he shows us how God orchestrated the birth of Messiah in Bethlehem in explicit fulfillment of that prophecy in what really was an amazing work of God. Because if things had just gone on normally Jesus never would have been born in Bethlehem he had to be by word of the prophet and the veracity of the word of the Bible was at stake but God did some mighty working to make it happen and exactly and precisely on time Joseph and Mary were only in Bethlehem for a matter of days it had to be exactly the days when that child was born Luke makes us understand this without ever quoting Micah because he knows his readers know that passage he gives us here some profound insight into the fulfillment of Micah $52.00 that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem now as we come to these 7 verses and I'm only going to give you the 1st of he gives us 3 settings here he gives us a world setting he gives us a national setting with Israel and he gives us a personal setting and all 3 of these are very important in identifying the nature of the Messiah in identifying the fulfillment of prophecy in identifying his role to the world he has to be the savior of the world and it's important to understand the setting in the world when he comes he is coming as the Messiah to Israel it's important to understand the prophetic scriptures that related to Israel and he is coming as the savior of every individual who puts their trust in him and it's there for important to understand something of the personal circumstances of Joseph and Mary so we're going to see the setting for the birth of Christ them the whole story of the birth of Christ is in verse 7 the 1st part she gave birth that's all it's it that's all it has she gave birth on embellish But what is coming together at that moment. Involves the world and the nation and Joseph and Mary personally it's wonderful to see the Savior who came to save the world and how he in his own birth is literally involving the world. It came as the fulfillment of Jewish scriptures and it shows here how he fits into the Jewish anticipation because of all testing the prophecies and he comes to redeem individuals. Who for the most part are common and humble like Joseph and Mary we see that in the personal setting so the world setting a national setting the personal setting Sadly I have to say it's common knowledge the world has largely rejected him the nation Israel has largely rejected him. And among the lowly and the humble and the needy few at believed in him and say. That continues to be true. Even listing to Grace to you as John MacArthur president of the Master's University in seminary has kicked off the series called The Promise of Christmas now as Christmas is really approaching and you're shopping for family and friends please consider purchasing a MacArthur Study Bible it includes foot notes from John and other practical tools that will help you or anyone better understand scripture you'll also receive with that purchase a copy of the Jesus answer book it answers key questions about Jesus and you get one with every Bible purchase so place your order as you contact us here today call our toll free number 1855 grace and to be sure that you have the right shipping options to ensure pre-Christian Miss delivery call us Monday through Friday between 7 30 am and 4 pm Pacific Time that number again 8055 Grace. The MacArthur Study Bible features 25000 notes by John that helps a limited every passage it also has introductions to all 66 books across references and much more it's reasonably priced in hardcover and. Other editions and again with every purchase of the MacArthur Study Bible or the topical Bible or the daily Bible will save you a free copy of the Jesus answer book and to be sure that your order arrives in time for Christmas call 1855 Grace. Let me also encourage you to express your year in support you know many people do not have a Bible teaching church nearby but your support really allows us to give Christians everywhere all across the globe access to Christ honoring Bible teaching make a year in tax deductible donation today right to Grace to You post office box 4000 Panorama City California 91412 or go to the Web site g t y dot org for John MacArthur Thanks for tuning in today come back tomorrow John continues showing you the promise of Christmas and another half hour lesion God's truth one verse at a time and grace to you. This week is John 114 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us we have seen his glory the glory of the one and only son who came from the Father full of grace and truth you know sometimes it's easier to show someone what you mean than just try to use words to explain it and God shows us through the life of Jesus we can see exactly what God means by loving and forgiving and serving and worshipping and so many other aspects of our Christian journey that's John 114 this week I'm Jordan coming up next it's Pastor Gary Moore with the I speak life Amy 1100 campaign futures and options trading involves financial risk it is not suitable for all investors fire the stock broker and hire yourself I'm Scott power and I've been on the trading floor for 20. 5 years I traded for Goldman Sachs in the s. 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Joyous season but sadly for thousands of Bay Area families Christmas is just another day as he struggled to pay their rent and put food on the table housing costs in the recent fires have hit families hard forcing them to make hard choices this Christmas the Bay Area rescue mission will provide meals for thousands of homeless individuals and up to $1000.00 needy families Your give to $60.00 will provide a family of 5 with meals and help place Christmas toys in the hands of needy Bay Area kids together we can brighten the holidays for needy and homeless families by partnering with the Bay Area rescue mission make your tax deductible gift today at k f a x dot com That's k f a x dot com and click on the Bay Area rescue mission banner that's k f a x dot com. That increasing chaos in this world the best gift you could give this Christmas is the promise of a better world in my new bestselling book place called Heaven My answer that can most frequently asked questions about heaven including how to make sure you will be there this Christmas share the hope of heaven with your friends and family members by giving them copies of a place called Heaven and available at bookstores and online retailers did you know you can use your Amazon echo device to listen to this station to get started simply say Alexis enable 1100 k. Every x. Skill Ok I've enabled it after she confirms you can then say Alexa play am 1100 k. F.a. X. Welcome to am 1100 k. F.a. X. It is just like that you can listen to through your Amazon echo or tap device Ok Alexa What's your favorite radio station that sees the am 1100 k. F. a X k o p s Francisco. One. The Salem media group sponsored by faith fellowship of San Leandro on 1100 k. Of. The preachers gotta be living what he's preaching how many know it's easy to preach it has suffered a little bit today and I speak life we continue looking at the life of David and the effects of allowing sin into your life and day the fell into the sexual sin because that is what it been shown to him by King Saul because the people asked for a king so they could be like the nations around them I am a Jew flotus and this is I speak like the radio teaching ministry of Pastor Kerry moratoria senior pastor of faith fellowship Foursquare Church Center and the California now if you're still looking for a few special gifts this Christmas season we have some ideas for you Pastor Gary has written several books which you can find on our website as well as on Amazon dot com One in particular the talking charismatic is a book Pastor Gary has written to teach the body of Christ the power and importance of the gifts of the spirit and praying speaking in other tongues it is an excellent rebuttal to the station is the ology which is the belief that the gifts and tongue sees with the apostles in particular here but Dr John MacArthur and his stance against the gifts if you're looking for an excellent easy to read Word from the other camp this book will bless teach and encourage you in the power of the Holy Spirit our website addresses faith dash fellowship dot us and again can also get that on Amazon dot com Now here's Pastor Gary David had become the undisputed king of Israel and Judah all of Israel was in his power so was dead John if that was dead Abner was dead espouse chef was dead David's the undisputed king. King Hiram from Lebannon offered to send David some wood to build a palace.