Speaker 1: 0:06

It's so good to be here with you and to take a few moments in God's Word tonight. I read the passage earlier Through this Advent season if you've been able to be with us we've looked at the birth of Christ and the fulfillment of Christ through Matthew, chapters 1 and 2. And so tonight I'm going to focus on a particular verse from those two chapters. Matthew, chapter 1, verse 23, where our gospel writer quotes the 8th century prophet, isaiah, from the 7th chapter of his prophecy, where he says Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they call his name Emmanuel. For almost 2,000 years, christians have confessed the virgin birth in the Apostles' Creed for around 1,700 years In fact, next year 2025, will be the 1,700th year of the Nicene Creed and for 1, 1700 years, through the Nicene Creed, christians have confessed the virgin birth, and Christians have confessed the virgin birth as one of the fundamental and essential doctrines of the Christian faith. We often confess it, but tonight I want to think a little bit about its significance and its application and its wonder with you. So let's pray, father. We come to your word now and we ask that you would give us eyes to see the beauty and the glory of Jesus Christ and that you would send forth your Holy Spirit. Enlighten our hearts and minds. We ask. In Jesus' name, we pray. God's people said amen. We're going to look at three things tonight about the virgin birth. The first thing about the virgin birth is it's a call to humility. It's a call to humility and wonder. The virgin birth of Jesus Christ humbles us in our inability to grasp the majesty and the greatness of God. We live in a day when, in fact, ever since the enlightenment, for the last two or 300 years, we've lived in a time in the Western culture where human reason has been elevated above God's revelation. It should be the other way around, but we've elevated human reason, and sometimes you'll even hear people say today, I believe in science. Well, human reason is a wonderful gift, science is a wonderful gift, but we've made it in the West in many, many cases, an idol, a God. We are foolish to think that something's not worth believing if we can't comprehend it, if we can't grasp it or fathom it based on our own personal experience or the powers of our own feeble reason. But I want to ask you tonight. But I want to ask you tonight. Yes, we can apprehend God, but if we could comprehend him and all of his ways, what kind of a God would we be worshiping? If God can be comprehended by my puny little brain, he isn't worthy of my worship. Certainly, the Christian faith is a reasonable faith. We don't bypass reason. But the Christian faith is greater than human reason. We hear this, for example, in the Apostle Paul when he writes to the Christians in Rome.

Speaker 1: 3:39

In the 11th chapter of Romans. He says oh the depths of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God, how unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways. For who has known the mind of the Lord or who has been his counselor? For from him and through him and to him are all things? To God be the glory forever, amen. After 11 chapters of theology, he ends up in wonder. God's taken by grace, paul's mind as far as it can go, and it just ends up in wonder and praise.

Speaker 1: 4:20

From there, isaiah the prophet, the 55th chapter. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. The greatness of God, king David, the greatest king of Israel in the old covenant days, a thousand years before the coming of Christ. He writes in Psalm 139, such knowledge, speaking of the knowledge of God, such knowledge of God is too wonderful for me. It is high, I cannot attain it. For me, it is high, I cannot attain it. And so saving faith in God understands the greatness of the person of God and the works of our creator God and our redeeming God. They're not contained and comprehended within our little brains, within our little brains. The Christian faith. Again, it's wholly reasonable, but human reason has its limits, and the virgin birth reminds us of this. It's one of several key truths of the Christian faith that are fundamental and essential, that cause us not to lay aside our reason but to humbly acknowledge before God your ways are inscrutable, your knowledge, it's too high for me. And so we end in the praise and glory of God.

Speaker 1: 6:02

This holy night is not really so much a night to philosophize. There's a place, a place for christian philosophy and to think. It's really more of a night to be in wonder. The virgin birth calls us to wonder. I love gk chesterton's poem on the incarnation. It takes us inside the manger. Listen with me.

Speaker 1: 6:25

The Christ child lay on Mary's lap. His hair was like a light. A weary, weary were the world, but here is all aright. The Christ child lay on Mary's breast. His hair was like a star. Oh, stern and cunning are the kings, but here the true hearts are. The Christ child lay on Mary's heart. His hair was like a fire. A weary weary is the world, but here the world's desire. The Christ child stood at Mary's knee. His hair was like a crown and all the flowers looked up at him and all the stars looked down. The greatness of God and the incarnation of the Son of God. It leaves us in wonder, and so we celebrate tonight the greatness and majesty of our God, and we are humbled by our inability to comprehend it all, and it leaves us simply to wonder in faith. And so the first thing about the virgin birth is a call to humility and wonder. But the second thing I want us to think about tonight is that the virgin birth is a matter of necessity. It's a matter of necessity for salvation. Consider the two names of Christ in this regard In this passage in Matthew, chapter 1 and verse 21,.

Speaker 1: 8:07

Jesus is named Jesus precisely because he will save his people from their sins. Aren't you glad for that. But he's also called in verse 23, emmanuel, which means God with us. Jesus is emphasizing his humanity, although not exclusively so. Emmanuel is emphasizing his divinity.

Speaker 1: 8:30

Let's think about it from the Emmanuel side. He is God, truly God. You know, joseph was Jesus' legal father, and Matthew tells us here that Jesus was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. If Joseph, or any other man for that matter, had been the biological father of Jesus, jesus would not have been divine, he would not have been the eternal Son of God, he would not have been the eternal Son of God, he would not have been the Son of God incarnate and therefore Jesus would not have been Emmanuel, god with us.

Speaker 1: 9:08

And if Jesus is not God, he's not sinless. And if he's not sinless, he's not qualified to die for our sins as the sinless, perfect sacrifice. And if he's not sinless and the perfect sacrifice, we would still be in our sins. And if Jesus is not God, let's remember that no mere man could endure what Jesus later on would endure on the cross, where he drank the cup of God's holy judgment and wrath, not for his sins but for ours. No mere man could absorb the lightning rod, the lightning strike of hell upon him but the God-man, because Jesus was truly God.

Speaker 1: 10:02

He knows and he knew then, when he was on the earth, the hearts of men, you remember. He cast out demons, he had power over darkness. And when he calmed the sea in the boat with His disciples, with a simple command, the disciples turned and called Jesus my God. They saw who he was and they ended up dying and shedding their blood for that testimony. And his own mother, mary, was among his worshipers. We see that in Acts, chapter one.

Speaker 1: 10:38

But he's not only manual God with us. Jesus is truly man. He's truly man. And that's important too. Because if God did not become man, if Jesus wasn't truly man as well as truly God, if he wasn't the eternal Word become flesh, the Son of Mary, if he wasn't Jesus of Nazareth, as well as the Holy Son, become flesh, the son of Mary, if he wasn't Jesus of Nazareth as well as the holy son of God, then Jesus would be no savior at all, because God's justice requires that a human must pay for human sin. And because Jesus was truly human we know from the gospels he was tempted by Satan. He became weary and hungry and became thirsty. Jesus wept, jesus grieved, he felt pain on that cross beyond anything you and I could ever imagine. The pain of hell, that's what the wrath of God poured out there is. Tonight we celebrate that we have not only a Savior that was born and went to the cross, but he's risen, and now the one who came down has ascended back to heaven. And now the one who came down has ascended back to heaven, that we might know that we have a high priest in heaven who is interceding for us and who sympathizes with our pain and our weaknesses and our struggles and even our battles with sin, though he is the sinless one. Oh the heart of Christ, go into the manger with me. I love this song. I think it's a beautiful song.

Speaker 1: 12:27

Mary, did you know that your baby boy will one day walk on water? Mary, did you know that your baby boy will save our sons and daughters? Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new? This child that you've delivered will soon deliver you. Mary, did you know that your baby boy will give sight to a blind man? Mary, did you know that your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand? Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod? And when you kiss your little baby, you've kissed the face of God. Mary, did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation? Mary, did you know that your baby boy will one day rule the nations? Did you know that your baby boy is heaven's perfect lamb? This sleeping child you're holding is the great I am.

Speaker 1: 13:45

She knew, at least largely knew, maybe not every detail, but she knew the virgin birth, this Virgin Mary. Scholars think she was around 14 years of age. Look at how high schoolers can change the world. You, young people. God does great things through young people. This Virgin Mary gave birth to a sinless one. Why this Jesus, truly man, this Emmanuel, god, with us for our salvation and the salvation of the world, aren't you glad, give me a Presbyterian amen tonight? That's good. So the virgin birth is a call to humility and wonder. But secondly, it's a call or it's a matter excuse me, a matter of necessity for our salvation. But third and last, it's the virgin birth displays a need for sovereignty. It displays a need for sovereignty, the sovereignty of God's grace. The virgin birth declares to us that God must not only initiate but accomplish man's salvation. God must initiate and accomplish man's salvation. The virgin birth reminds us of this, the very fact that Jesus' birth, the birth of the Savior, is miraculous. It points to the very fact that salvation itself is miraculous. It's supernatural and therefore it's only something that God can do. Salvation is not something man can do, let alone any sinful man.

Speaker 1: 15:32

In John's gospel, in chapter one, the 14th verse here's what we read the eternal word became flesh and dwelt among us, and the verse is right before it. It says he came to his own and his own. People did not receive him, but to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God Now listen who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God, but of God. The NIV says, puts it like this the children of God. Children not born of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God, by the sovereign grace of God. That's how God makes a Christian. It's a supernatural thing. We cannot save ourselves.

Speaker 1: 16:36

Christ was conceived and born not from the will of man, that is, not from a husband's will, not through intimate marital relations, but through the mysterious power of the Holy Spirit overshadowing the Virgin Mary. And this reminds me of the creation account, genesis 1, verse 2, where you have there, when the earth was without form and void, you had this emptiness, this chaos and darkness was over the face of the deep. And it says there that the Holy Spirit hovered over the chaos and he brought into it what Light and life and goodness and beauty. And that's what God did when he brought Christ, the Son of God, into the womb of Mary and the Word became flesh, did something supernatural, just like when he created all things of nothing, and the spirit brought light and life into that barrenness. And that's exactly what happens when an individual is saved. Individual salvation works the same way by that same supernatural power of God.

Speaker 1: 17:53

God, the father in love, sends his son to die for all of our sins. He died for our past sins, our present sins and even our future sins. If you're a Christian, the sins of 2025 are already taken care of. Aren't you glad for that? Amen, I love to hear a child. I love amen. Corners.

Speaker 1: 18:16

And then God the father. And what? Christ died and he rose again. But when he got to heaven, he sent it into heaven, him, and the father sent forth the Holy Spirit into the hearts that God had determined to save and to make. Why? To make us alive to the things of God, to open our eyes to the glory of God, that we would be convicted of our sin, and to see the wickedness of our sins and admit humbly before God of our spiritual misery and our desperate need for God. I don't know what's going on in every person's life in this room tonight. I don't know what all your problems are. We all have them but I know this man's greatest problem is that he's not right with God. We all desperately need the gift of God's saving love, and you can't get that through Amazon, you can't get it at Sam's Club or wherever you go. It comes from the sovereign power of God.

Speaker 1: 19:20

Listen, you hear it in Ephesians 2. When Paul wrote to the Christians in Ephesus Listen to this Verse 1, you were dead. Well, they obviously weren't physically dead, they were spiritually dead. He's contrasting what they were before and after their conversion to Christ. He says you were dead in what Trespasses and sins in which you once walked. Verse 4, but God, that's the game changer, isn't it? But God, no matter what you're facing tonight, you could be facing death tonight for one of your relatives. But God, god is great and he's good and he's gracious Cause listen, you were dead in trespasses and sins in which you once walked, but God being rich in mercy. He's gracious because, listen, you were dead in trespasses and sins in which you once walked, but God being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. If you know God, through Christ, you have had a spiritual resurrection, and, and it comes through the intervening power and sovereign grace of God.

Speaker 1: 20:42

Paul goes on to say by grace you have been saved, and this is not your own doing. It is the what, the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Every gift under that tree is to remind us and point to the greatest gift of all. It's the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. Our salvation's not only about the pardon and forgiveness of our sins. What I'm trying to say is it's also about God making us a new creation. The virgin birth reminds us of this. As Paul says, we're us a new creation. The virgin birth reminds us of this. As Paul says, we're made a new creation by God's sovereign grace and power. And so what happens? He brings where there was deadness and to the things of God. He brings light and life into our heart and transforms us and enlightens us, and he brings goodness and beauty into our heart and our minds and our life and our relationships. Isn't God good? We all need God's grace, his saving grace. Through Christ, he breaks sin's domination of our life. Every Christian will struggle with sins, though our sins are dealt with at the cross. Legally, we'll practically struggle with our sins, but they don't have to dominate our life, and the Spirit breaks the back of sin in our life and helps us to grow to be more like Christ.

Speaker 1: 22:13

We see the Spirit at work in Joseph here in this story, jesus' legal father. It's a beautiful thing to see. Joseph had his own sins he had to deal with, but you can see that he was a godly man. He had made Joseph a new creation. He was a man of true faith, committed to obeying God. It wasn't simply that Joseph was just a good guy, naturally, but in verse 19, it says he was a just man, or you could say he was a righteous man. What does it mean to be a righteous man? It means he was a man that was right with God and it showed in his life. Don't we want to be right with God and have it show in our life? And so Joseph, he had not only the favor of God's saving grace, he had the power of God's saving grace at work in his heart and life. And those two things always go together when there's the favor of God, there's the power of God.

Speaker 1: 23:09

And you see this, where he kept himself faithful before marriage to Mary, showing self-control, that's a fruit of the Spirit. To Mary, showing self-control, that's a fruit of the Spirit. He displayed compassion toward Mary. He could have financially buried her Before he realized that the Holy Spirit had overshadowed Mary and that she had not been unfaithful before he realized it. It says in verse 19,. He was unwilling to put her to shame, that is, to public shame. He was unwilling to do it. You see his gentleness there. Jewish law would have allowed her to be stoned. They weren't really doing that a whole lot in those days. But Joseph could have sued Mary for her dowry, for the bride's price.

Speaker 1: 23:52

What judge is going to believe Mary? What would you like to say for yourself, young lady judge is going to believe Mary. What would you like to say for yourself, young lady. Well, the Holy Spirit overshadowed me. Your honor and Mary would have become unmarriable in that culture and that would have led to deeper poverty. Joseph could have ruined her, but with the spirit of God at work in her, what does he do? And that culture was to do the honorable thing to divorce her quietly, meaning, not publicly, not making a big splash, just with two or three witnesses, as the law required, and given her a pillow to land on.

Speaker 1: 24:36

And you see, you see the Holy Spirit at work in Joseph's life, just like that's how he works in every believer's life. Not that Joseph was perfect, but with Joseph and Mary, you see their obedience and you see them how they were willing to absorb the scorn and mockery of the world. They were holy in a dark world. They were willing to obey God and receive the mockery of the world. The Spirit's what empowers God's people to do that. There's more I could say about this. I just want to say this Do you live with the hope of Christ in you?

Speaker 1: 25:17

Do you live with the hope of Christ in you? Christ came that you would have life eternal, that you would have life abundantly, that you would become a little temple of God, with God's spirit living in you, knowing that you can face the judgment day in peace, that it'll be a great day for you who believe in Christ, because Christ has dealt with everything that we have failed before God, and he will grow you in himself to be more and more like Christ, and then one day he'll bring you home to glory, to heaven, and we won't have to worry about sin anymore. I hope you have that hope in you tonight. So good Christian men, rejoice with heart and soul and voice. Now ye hear of endless bliss. Jesus Christ was born for this. He hath opened heaven's door and man is blessed forevermore. Christ was born for this. Christ was born for this. He was born for you. Receive him by faith and walk out of here right with God, and then let it show in this community. Let's pray.