AUDIO ONLY

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Do you remember times in your life when the anticipation of something almost consumed you? Maybe you were going to take a really neat vacation and just couldn’t wait. Maybe it was the anticipation of your wedding, or the birth of a child or grandchild. I remember a few Christmas Eve nights when I thought I wouldn’t be able to sleep because I was anticipating Christmas morning – it was going to be amazing. I also remember waking up Christmas morning – usually I take a little time to wake up but not on Christmas morning – I woke up ready to go.

When we read the Bible, we see that it too is all focused one brief point in time, two thousand years ago – the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. In the Old Testament times – before Jesus came – we see Scripture anticipating Jesus’ arrival just as I looked forward to Christmas morning when I was young. At the birth of Jesus we see heaven exploding with celebration because a breath-taking thing was about to unfold. And after Jesus came, we see the Bible looking back to Jesus as the One who still fills our deepest need.

So today I would like to briefly show you where the Bible looks forward to Jesus birth. I’d like to show you heaven’s celebration. I’d like to talk about why this was such a big, joy-filled, life-giving event.

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The Bible is divided into two sections. The section written before Jesus arrived – 2,000 years ago (the Old Testament), and the section written after Jesus arrived (the New Testament). While the Old Testament was written hundreds of years before Jesus came, it looks forward to Jesus’ birth:

Isaiah 7:14; 9:6 – 700BC – Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel (personal name meaning “God with us”).

Isaiah 9:6 – For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

So, about 2,700 years ago – 700 years before Jesus was born – the prophet Isaiah said that a virgin will give birth to one who will embody “God with us”. This child will be called “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace”.

At the birth of Jesus we find that heaven couldn’t contain itself. This event was so big that the angels broke through into our dimension to proclaim the amazing, glory of this event.

Luke 2:8–14 – And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. ¹⁰ And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹ For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹² And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” ¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

So, why was this event so fantastic? What made it so fantastic?

Well, Jesus’ coming was fantastic, amazing, and wonderful good news because Jesus was coming to save all who would receive him.

Matthew 1:21 – Angel talking to Joseph about Mary – “She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

The biggest need every man, woman, and child has is to be saved from their sins. Our basic, fundamental problem is that God is good and we’re not. The goodness of God means we have a problem that we can’t simply work our way out of. The problem is that a good God can’t simply overlook sin – God wouldn’t be good if he did that. If a murderer, or a rapist, or an arsonist, is standing before a judge and the judge says, “Since I’m a good judge and a loving judge, I’m going to overlook your crime. Go free – it’s all good.”, we would say that this judge is anything BUT good. In fact this judge would be evil. If God simply ignored sin God would be evil.

The evil that is in me must and will be dealt with.

Romans 3:23 – …all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Hebrews 9:27 – And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment…

THE GOOD NEWS OF CHRISTMAS IS GOD DID NOT LEAVE US ALONE

God did not leave us alone to face the judgment. Jesus came to absorb the judgment for sin for all those who would take him as their substitute. So, not only did Jesus take on flesh and come as a baby to this earth, he also lived a life without sin so that he could die for his people – so that he could be the substitute they desperately need. Jesus – God with us – absorbed the judgment of God for the sin of all those who would trust him. Jesus dies and I live.

Philippians 3:8–9 – Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith…

Romans 6:23 – For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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How do I take Jesus as my substitute?

John 6:35 – Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

John 11:25 – Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,

John 20:31 – [The book of John was written] so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Acts 16:31 – And [Paul & his group] said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved…”

Romans 10:9 – …if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Christmas should be filled, filled, filled with joy and celebration because Jesus came to make us right with God. Jesus came to give life. Jesus came to take away sin. Jesus came to save his people.

Appropriate Closing