 Tonight we're simply looking at a few things that led up to the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ and we find those things here in Matthew chapter one. I'll begin reading at verse 18, read to verse 25 and we'll look at this as we celebrate tonight, Christmas Eve. Matthew writes, now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows, after his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph, her husband, being a just man and not wanting to make her a public example was minded to put her away secretly. 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 Mary, your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit and she will bring forth a son, you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a son and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which is translated God with us. Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn son and he called his name Jesus. So as we begin here, I want you to note some of the very basic things that we all can observe very briefly. Matthew begins his account of the birth of Jesus with a simple straightforward introduction. He's basically simply saying these are the events that surround the birth of Jesus Christ whom he refers to as our savior, the savior of mankind. I want to begin by looking at this in this fashion. I want to begin this study by noting that the account that we have here in Matthew is written in what would be called a historic narrative. This is consistent with the purpose of scripture because it is written as an account of the activities of God. The apostle Peter, when he was writing in second Peter, chapter one, verse 16, said it like this. He said, for we did not follow cunningly devised fables. When we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. So the apostle said we did not follow cunningly devised fables. When he spoke of these cunningly devised fables, he was speaking of pagan fables. The pagan fables that concerned the appearance of their gods on earth in human form. And what he was saying here simply put was this, the gospel that we present to you is true. It is not a Greek myth and it's not an introduction to a mystery religion. You see, as you read your Bibles you'll discover certain things. God had long before determined to rescue lost mankind and he determined to do that through a savior who was his son Jesus Christ. This is something that as you read your Bibles you'll note that he had revealed peace meal through his servants whom he refers to as the prophets. The prophets were those individuals who were given insight into what God already knew. God simply gave to them information that he himself had. Isaiah, for example, a prophet found in the Old Testament. Isaiah 46, nine and 10 writes and we read, remember the former things of old for I am God, there is no other. I am God, there's none like me declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things that are not yet done. Saying my counsel shall stand and I will do all my pleasure. And so regarding Messiah, God had moved the prophets and the prophets wrote concerning his appearance on earth. Now the prophets of the Old Testament never truly understood the full implication of their own writings. Peter says to them, it was revealed that not to themselves but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven things he said which angels desire to look into. So the thought that God should take upon himself human flesh is far beyond human comprehension. It's beyond comprehension even of the angels. Obviously we are so callous by sin and the world that sometimes we may lose the wonder of such an event. But angels because they see God while the wonder of God taken on human flesh is far beyond their imagination. Now concerning Messiah, God had made it clear that he would provide a Messiah for us. When you study the Old Testament you find it noted as interesting that there are more than 300 specific prophecies that are given in the Old Testament concerning the Messiah. And there's a professor by the name of Peter Stoner which in my generation if you call them a stoner that wouldn't be a compliment but he was a Westmont professor and he was a professor emeritus of science. And Peter Stoner calculated the probability of one man fulfilling the major prophecies made concerning Messiah. Now note I mentioned a moment ago there are over 300 specific prophecies. One person that I was looking at and reading said that there were some 456 prophecies but this particular science of professor calculated the probability of one man fulfilling the major prophecies concerning Messiah and he submitted his figures for review to a committee of the American Scientific Affiliation. They verified that his calculations were dependable and accurate in regard to the scientific material presented and after examining eight different prophecies they conservatively estimated that the chance of one man fulfilling all eight prophecies was one in 10 to the 17th power. Now to illustrate how large that number is it's a figure followed by 17 zeros. Stoner gave this illustration. He says imagine covering the entire state of Texas with silver dollars to a level of two feet deep. The total number of silver dollars needed to cover the whole state would be 10 to the 17th power. Now choose just one of those silver dollars, mark it and drop it from an airplane. Thoroughly stir all the silver dollars all over the state. When this has been done blindfold one man, tell him he can travel wherever he wishes in the state of Texas. Tell him that somewhere along the way he must stop reach down into the two feet of silver dollars and try to pull up the one specific silver dollar that had been marked. The chance of his finding that one silver dollar in the state of Texas is the same chance the prophets had of eight of their prophecies being fulfilled in any one man in the future. That ought to cause chills to go up your spine because Jesus fulfilled over 300 some say 456 of those prophecies. So believer you have reason to believe. We are not following cunningly devised fables. We do not as Christians hold to a Christmas myth. The Bible does not permit us to believe that. The Bible specifically presents the events of the life of Christ as being historically accurate. So when Peter said we do not follow cunningly devised fables, he was appealing to prophecy. Now the first of such prophecies occurred in the Garden of Eden after the fall of Adam. And that is when God made his first promise to rescue us because of that fall. Genesis 3.15 says I will put enmity between you speaking to Satan and the woman and between your seat and her seat he shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel. He shall bruise your head as a reference to the seat of the woman, Messiah. Messiah is to come by the woman and by her alone without the involvement of man. The address is not to Adam and Eve, but to Eve. It was in consequence of this purpose of God that Jesus was born of a virgin. This and this alone is what is implied in the promise of the seed of the woman bruising the head of the serpent and that occurred on the cross. So Matthew was speaking concerning the fact that God is going to provide a savior for us. And he was led by the Spirit to record the events of his birth factually. And he does that by giving certain details. Notice verse 18. Notice how he says here in Matthew 1 verse 18, the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows. After his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. And so this woman, Mary is a young virgin. She was engaged to what I would refer to today, a construction worker by the name of Joseph. His friends called him Big Joe. Sorry. She was more than likely, and this is interesting to me, she was more than likely about 14 years of age. And scripture speaking of her reveals her as a very godly young lady. Think about that for just a moment. Mary was a young teen. Now, the Lord gave me the blessed trial of raising four children in their teen years. We actually had four teenagers at one time in the same house. And I felt sorry for Marie because I moved out about that time for a few years. But we know that the teen years can be difficult years. We know that those of us who are parents and those who are in their teen years know that those years indeed can be very difficult for them also. Decisions for the future, insecurities for the present, often clouded their judgment. Mary, as a young woman, 14 year old or so, had the opportunity to make a decision. She was given the opportunity to make a decision that would affect the entire human race forever. An angel by the name of Gabriel told her that she would conceive in her womb and that she would bring forth a son named Jesus. And when he brought that to her and spoke to her, the Gospel of Luke, chapter one, verse 38, records how Mary said, "'Behold, the maid servant of the Lord, "'let it be to me according to your word.'" And so she received and said, "'May it be so.'" Now, the Bible tells us she was betrothed to a young man by the name of Joseph. Now, the Hebrew marriage custom involved two simple stages, betrothal and the actual marriage ceremony. Now, when they were betrothed, they were actually regarded as legally married, but they did not consummate the marriage until the actual wedding ceremony. And that's why in verse 18 it says, "'Before they came together, "'she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.'" So that emphasizes the fact that Joseph and Mary had no intimate relationships. Mary's virginity was an important evidence of her godliness and the purity of her life. And that's why Mary's pregnancy is carefully presented as miraculous. In verse 19, it says Joseph, her husband, being a just man and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. So Joseph, when he hears of this event, he discovers that his beloved Mary is with child. Understandably, there's no doubt in my mind that this man was shattered, his heart was broken because Mary, in his mind, had been unfaithful. And he began to think about it because he knew how severe the law of Moses was as it relates to such an activity. You see, in our day, it's common now for unmarried women to become pregnant. During the time of Mary, that was something that was completely regarded as being what it is, it was wrong. And it was something under the Jewish law that was very strictly punished. In the Old Testament in Deuteronomy, in chapter 22, verses 23 and 24, it reads, if a man happens to meet in a town of virgin, pledged to be married and he sleeps with her, you shall take both of them to the gate of that town and stone them to death. The girl, because she was in town and did not scream for help, and the man, because he violated another man's wife, you must purge the evil from among you. Joseph was certain that Mary had been with another man. That's the only way she could have become pregnant. We know that in the Bible narrative that Mary had left Nazareth for three months and had visited her cousin Elizabeth. And so in that three month period that she was gone, he's assuming that she became pregnant. So he begins to think about it, what am I gonna do? There's a situation that I don't wanna deal with here. As a just man, he had different rights that he could have exercised, but he was minded, his intent was to put her away secretly. He was gonna have a private divorce. Now I'd note very quickly to you that Joseph was a righteous man, not a self-righteous man. And as a righteous man, he was a compassionate man because compassion is an evidence of true godliness. The Bible says in Psalm 85.10, mercy and truth have met together, righteousness and peace have kissed. So true religion and true religious faith will always be evidenced by true compassion. Well, as he was thinking about these things, notice what it says in verses 20 and 21, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. Now instead of overreacting, what he does is he takes his hurt and he takes his concern to the Lord. And he had been praying and seeking the Lord in all of these things. What am I going to do? And in answer to his prayer, the Lord sends an angel, the minister to him. This is emphasizing the supernatural conception of Jesus Christ and it gives us insight into where our comfort in hard times originates. Our comfort in our difficult times is not gonna originate on earth. Our comfort comes from the Lord. God has a way of answering our prayers. One of the things that we do sometimes that is to our own hurt is we take our problems not to the Lord but we keep them to ourselves or maybe we seek help from some other source. When the Bible tells us very clearly that God is our help. He's a present help in our time of need and what Joseph did is what we all ought to do and we ought to see how he did this and practice it ourselves. He had taken this, he had thought upon it and he had taken it to the Lord and he waited on the Lord to make a decision. Like it says in Psalm 40 verse one, I waited patiently for the Lord. He inclined to me and he heard my cry. Well the angel calls him Joseph, son of David. And as he speaks to him it's intended to remind him that he's David's line thus fulfilling the promise that God had made to David. When God had said when your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers I will set up your seed after you who will come from your body. I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name. I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. He said your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever. But the angel speaks to him. Notice what he says, do not be afraid. Literally stop being afraid. God is in control here. The child has been conceived through the agency of the Holy Spirit. And he says in verse 21, and she will bring forth a son. You shall call his name Jesus for he shall save his people from their sins. Jesus Jehoshua Jehovah is salvation. The problem that we have guys and we all know this I'm speaking to the choir. I realize it. The problem that we have in the United States and in this world is a sin problem. Sin isn't something that people like to speak about too much anymore. As a matter of fact everything is okay except speaking about sin. Everything is permissible except speaking about what's not permissible. And because that seems to be true, then the message that you're bringing today, you as believers when you share with your friends and family, the message of salvation is a message that many people don't have a way of even relating to. And it's because many of us have been programmed through a lifetime to believe that our problems really are economic or societal or cultural or educational or racial or linguistic. We have made up so many reasons for the way that we are, the way that I was raised, the lack of education, the lack of parenting, whatever that I have now been raised in a society that gives to me permission to continue excusing my behavior. So when somebody stands up and says let me tell you something that the alcohol that you like to drink and get drunk on, drunk with all the time, that's really not a good thing for you to do that. Then immediately, well, who are you to judge me? When we tell somebody, you know, the better way to do it would be to date and to get married and then begin to live together. Then you have people saying, who are you to judge me? You know, we're willing to accept certain things and other things we're not willing to listen to. When I was growing up, being raised in the church and all as I was until I was 12 years old and hearing so many messages and hearing so much Bible and one former another, catechism classes and the rest, you know, as I was growing up, I knew there was a right and I knew there was a wrong. And so by that time I was 15, I began to make decisions to do that which I knew was wrong. So I knew that it was wrong to drink. I knew that it was wrong to get drunk. I knew that it was wrong to do drugs. I knew that it was wrong to do the variety of things and go along with that kind of lifestyle. I knew that because I had been raised with a moral compass. My mom had wanted to teach me right from wrong. She had sent me to church to church so that I could receive instruction, religious instruction. And I received as a young Roman Catholic, I received my first communion. I received my confirmation. I had received baptism when I was four or five months old. So I had gone through some basic sacraments of the church and I knew that there were certain things you ought to do. There were certain things you ought not to do. When I went to Catechism, I memorized the Ten Commandments. I got the little silver star or the little gold star and my Catechism and all of that went to church. I tried to practice my religion as a little boy. Was very, very devout. My mom really believed that I had a real connection in some way or other with the Lord when in reality I didn't. I was fascinated with him. I wanted to know more of him but I didn't really know him. That's why at the age of 15, that's why I got tired of trying to be good. And he decided that since I'd been living these years doing what I thought was right and it doesn't seem to pay off, I began at that point to do the drinking and at that point to do the drugs and that's what I did for five years until I was 20. For me, Christmas was a good opportunity simply to party. It was a great time for us to go out and for us to get loaded or drunk or both. And that's the way it was. And on December 27th, 1970, well actually December 25th, 1970, that Christmas I still remember my father who gave to me a couple of gifts. One of them was a Ouija board and the other was a hundred dollar bill. And I accidentally threw the hundred dollar bill in an envelope in the fireplace and burned it up. I wish I'd have consulted the Ouija board first. Just kidding, obviously. But I still remember December 25th, 1970 was the day that I wanted to go out and get loaded. I knew that. I mean, as a matter of fact, that's what I did. I still remember that. I went to a friend's house in Whittier. We had some marijuana, we had some alcohol and that was Christmas for me. Empty, useless. You know, the idea of gifts under a tree, the idea of joy to the world, the idea of love and all of those things, those were fantasies that other people have but they weren't something that was part of my reality. My reality was the opposite. My reality was there's nothing but pain and sorrow in this world. There's nothing but hurt and sickness in this world. There's no reason to care about anybody else because nobody cares about you. That was my mentality. And so at the age of 20, on December 25th, I still remember going to a friend's house, partying and all and being empty and then December 27th came. And that's when I was kidnapped and taken to a Maranatha concert and that's when I first heard the gospel of Jesus Christ clearly presented and that's when I gave my heart to the Lord. 43 years ago, this Friday, I celebrate 43 years of following Jesus Christ and I've never regretted one day, one day of being a follower of the Lord and he took the pain and he took the loneliness and he took the sorrow and he took the hurt and he took the fear and he took all of those things that were part of my life and persona and he gave me something new because the Bible tells us if any man be in Christ, he's a new creation, all things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new. My problem wasn't a girl relationship. My problem was I didn't have a relationship with a God of heaven who could give me joy and peace and love and he could give me the things that I couldn't pursue and find in my own strength. That's what Jesus Christ is all about and that's what is lost today in Christmas and that's why we the church have to live it out in front of people. This is not a myth. This is not a cleverly devised or cunning fable. This is the truth. Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. He came and was born. He was placed in a manger but he ended up in a cross and when he died on that cross, he died for us. He shed his blood for me and he forgives me of my sins and he gives me a new life. That's why if any man be in Christ, he's a new creation, all things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new. That happens to Jesus Christ. No other way, no other way. And that's why today a savior has been born. A savior, only sinners need saviors. Only sinners need saviors. And Jesus Christ is that savior. The Bible tells us as through one man's offense, judgment came to all men resulting in condemnation. Even so through one man's righteous act, the free gift came to all men resulting in justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience, many were made sinners. So also by one man's obedience, many will be made righteous. Jesus Christ obeyed. He took upon himself our sin. He was placed on a cross. He suffered and he died for us. He poured out his blood for us so that we might have life with him. You know, Christians are called hypocrites quite often. As a matter of fact, I feel sorry for the Duck Dynasty pop. You know, I forget his name, Phil or something like that. I feel sorry for him. I feel sorry for him in the sense that that he was okay as long as people could mock him as being some kind of hillbilly. See, it's all right to make fun of people, even make them stars on reality TV as long as they're entertaining, right? As long as you pretend that they don't have a brain. But when they begin to speak and say, no, this is what I truly believe, then suddenly all Hollywood goes into shock and horror. It's amazing to me how they get so upset because this guy believes what he believes. But that's what Christmas is all about, isn't it? I mean, when Christians are called hypocrites, and I don't want to sound mean. I mean, my goodness, I want to sound caring and all, but it's going to sound mean. I know it is, so I'll say it. When Christians are called hypocrites, I scratch my head over that and I say, you call us hypocrites. You're celebrating the birth of somebody you don't even believe in. You want to talk about hypocrisy. How can you celebrate? Why don't you just not give gifts and not receive them? Why don't you just go and contemplate your navel or do something else for the day? But see, you see the difference is. Now that would be real, that would be real. In the backyard and take your Jack Daniels with you and whatever you're going to do to celebrate for whatever reason. But we believe, we believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. We believe that God took upon himself human flesh dwelt amongst men and we beheld his glory, the glory of the only begotten Son of God full of grace and truth. We believe that. We believe that the word became flesh, that God spoke into our lives through the man Jesus Christ, the incarnated word of God. And he declared to us, I love you, I have come to rescue you, I am your savior. This is not a story, this is the truth and I can change you, just receive me. That's the gospel. That's the gospel and it's true. My dad was sending me to a psychologist just before I got saved. The site couldn't do anything for me, he just couldn't help me. But Jesus Christ did. There are people who go to the five step and 10 step programs, I understand that, but I took a one step program. I walked to Jesus Christ and he changed my life because that's what he does. That's what he does. The Lord Jesus Christ changes your life and he does it because we are dead in our sins and trespasses. We have no spiritual life in us. So that's why unless a man is born again he cannot see nor enter the kingdom of God. We didn't make up the term born again, Jesus used that term. And he said unless you're born again, you cannot enter, you cannot see the kingdom, you cannot. So what did he do? Well, Jesus Christ sent his Holy Spirit who convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgment and awakens us to the reality of our lost condition, draws us through his merciful cords to himself and then fills us with his spirit after he forgives us of our sins, cleanses us from all unrighteousness and takes us out of the Myrie clay, places us on a firm solid foundation and then walks every step of the way with us as we walk through earth and we end up in heaven. That's what the Lord does and it comes through faith in Jesus Christ. That's what Christmas is all about. The baby that we celebrate grew up to be a man and the man once was placed in a manger and then that man was placed on a cross and then that man was placed in a tomb but the cross and the tomb could not hold him. Because the stone was rolled away not so he could get out but so that man could enter in and see it's empty because we worship the Son of God, the living Savior who ever lives to make intercession for us who's alive right now and we celebrate the reality of that when we remember his birth and that's why we gather like we are tonight to remember his birth but to also remember it led to his death, burial and bless God to his resurrection and in that resurrection we have life because of him.