Jesus, Born King of the Jews

Matthew chapter one Jesus, the promised Messiah, the king of the Jews. That's that's who was born in the manger two thousand and so years ago. That's depicted in our little display up here on the communion table. This is the birth of Jesus Christ, the incarnation of the son of God and his death and resurrection that was to follow is the pivotal moment in all of human history. There was a day in which our world recognized that.

Our calendar is based upon that. BC, before Christ and then AD speaking of after Christ. In the year of our Lord. Our calendar is based upon it. It counts down to his birth and then it counts back up after after his birth.

It is the crucial historic event. After the creation of man and the fall of man into sin. The plan of redemption is on full display. Thousands of years later. This moment in time when Christ comes into the world to save man from the sin that he put himself under back in the Garden Of Eden.

There's coming another crucial event in the history of mankind when Christ again returns. At the rapture to take his children home to heaven and then seven years later, to Jerusalem to set up his kingdom. That day will come as this one did. If you wish to understand who Jesus Christ really is and why his birth was such a pivotal moment in all of human history, You must begin with the promises given by God to his people in the Old Testament concerning one called the Messiah, the chosen, appointed, or anointed one who would come to redeem them and to establish his everlasting kingdom. Jesus said to the Pharisees and others, non believers in the New Testament who claimed to believe the Old Testament scriptures, he said to them, if you'd really believe Moses and the prophets, you would believe in me because they wrote about me and indeed they did and if you keep your eyes open and you're looking for references to Jesus Christ, his coming, and God's plan of redemption through him, you can see it painted on the pictures of the Old Testament stories and prophets and and and laws and sacrificial system all the way through leading up to the day when Jesus Christ came.

And so his birth is very, very, very, very important let's look back at some of those Old Testament scriptures this morning about the coming of the Me we'll start with Genesis chapter 12 verse three. This is God speaking to Abraham as he is calling him to leave Heron after the air of the Chaldees and to go to the promised land. He says here, I will bless them that bless thee and curse him that curseth thee and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed. In thee, in thy seed, he says in another passage to Abraham, shall all the families of the earth be blessed. In your descendants, particularly as Paul points out in Galatians, one descendant in particular.

Would God bless not only the nation of Israel but would God bless through him all of the nations of the world. There are those that think that that is a reference to the Jews spreading throughout the world and that there are a blessing in themselves and they can be in some respects but I don't believe that is the specific rep what he's specifically referencing here. Some say that the word of God is the blessing to all the families of the earth. For the word of God was written mostly by Jews and indeed, the word of God is a great blessing to us but I believe as Paul points out in Galatians, he is speaking of one particular seed, the Messiah Jesus Christ, who through his death and resurrection on the cross is a blessing as he brings redemption not only to the Jews but to all those who put their faith and trust in him. Genesis 4,910, the scepter, God speaking again to the nation of Israel.

He says here, the scepter that which a king holds that identifies him as king shall not depart from Judah. That is one of Jacob's sons, one of the 12 tribes, the tribe of Judah, nor a law giver from between his feet until Shiloh come and to him shall the gathering of the people be. There is one to come and that person is going to come from the tribe of Judah and he will reign and he will rule. And he will gather the people back to himself particularly here Israel. Psalm one thirty two eleven, the Lord has sworn in truth unto David.

He will not turn from it. The Lord will not repent of it. He will not turn back. He will not change his mind. He has sworn unto David.

He will not turn from it of the fruit of thy body will I set up. Will I set upon thy throne? The Lord says, to David, of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne. Sounds interesting. Will I set upon thy throne?

Who's going to set upon his throne? God is. In the person of Jesus Christ. Another promise and he had this person who will set up on this throne is God but it is also a descendant of who? A descendant of David of the fruit of thy body.

You'll be a descendant of David. Isaiah seven fourteen, therefore, the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name E Which means God God with us. A virgin will conceive Isaiah says, will bear a son and he shall be called God with us, God with man. Isaiah sixty two eleven, behold, the Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of the world.

Say you to the daughter of Zion, okay? This is to Israel. Behold, thy salvation cometh. Your deliverance cometh. It's coming.

Behold, his reward is with him and his work before him. Your salvation is coming. It's coming in the person of this hymn that is referred to. His reward is with him and his work is before him. Who is this him?

Well, this is another reference to the Messiah who will bring salvation to Israel. Jeremiah twenty three five and six. Behold the days come saith the Lord that I will raise unto David a righteous branch and a king shall reign and prosper and shall execute judgement and justice in the earth in his days. Judah shall be saved. Israel shall dwell safely.

In this is his name whereby he shall be called the Lord our righteousness. The Lord, the righteous one. Who is again, who is the righteous one? Jesus Christ, our Lord and savior. Daniel nine twenty five, know therefore and understand from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem.

Jerusalem had been destroyed after the kings of Judah by the nation of Babylon. They they leveled and destroyed. They leveled the walls. They leveled the temple in the city of Jerusalem. For seventy years, Israel and Judah remained in exile in Babylon until under King Cyrus, Nehemiah, and Ezra took the people back.

They rebuilt the walls. They rebuilt the temple. Daniel who was in Babylon at the time is writing of this prophecy to come and says, no, therefore and understand that from the going forth of the command to restore and to build Jerusalem which was by King Cyrus unto Messiah the prince until the coming of this appointed Messiah that will be salvation to Israel and will set up his kingdom eventually unto the Messiah the prince shall be seven weeks and three score and two weeks. These are sets of seven years not sets of seven days. So four hundred and eighty three years would pass between the time that Cyrus sent Nehemiah and Ezra and others back to rebuild Jerusalem until the coming of the Messiah.

Until his triumphal entry into Jerusalem the week of his death on the cross. That was four hundred and eighty three years. Just as Daniel had prophesied concerning the Messiah of Israel. Micah chapter five and verse two, but thou Bethlehem Ephrata, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, little town, not anything to to to talk about. Yet out of thee shall come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel whose goings forth have been from of old from everlasting.

Bethlehem and Jerusalem are both called the cities of David. Bethlehem because David was born there. Jerusalem because David's conquered it and set up his his capital there in Jerusalem. The king that will rule of the seed of David and will establish God's kingdom forever will also be born in this little town just a few miles Southeast of Jerusalem called Bethlehem. So, one more reference here, Zechariah nine nine.

Rejoice greatly, oh daughter of Zion. Shout, oh daughter of Jerusalem, behold thy king cometh unto thee. He is just and having salvation. Lowly and riding upon an and upon a colt, the foal of an There it again, it's speaking of the day that Jesus rode in to Jerusalem on the foal of a donkey on this triumphal entry. Again, four eighty three years, the king is to come.

He is just. He is righteous and he is bringing salvation to the nation of Israel. Do you remember awaiting Christmas as a child? Do do you remember that and and your anticipation? I feel sorry for teachers.

The last month of school before Christmas comes because the kids, all they can think of especially the last couple weeks is Christmas is coming. Christmas is coming. Christmas is coming. And and they're excited. They're excited for the presents.

They're excited for all the activities. They're excited to be out of school. And Christmas is is something highly anticipated in our country particularly among our children. Do you remember awaiting the visit of a relative that you longed to see or trip that you were really looking forward to? I every year I look forward to Thanksgiving.

It's my favorite time of the year. I like Christmas too but I like Thanksgiving because I get to go home. I go back to my parent's house. We have a family reunion. We play music.

We have a wonderful time and and I look forward to that every year. There are trips sometimes we look forward to. There are are visits from relatives particularly when we were little. Just can't wait to see so and so and for them to come and and visit us. The Jews had been waiting.

Waiting. Waiting. Waiting. With anticipation. For hundreds of years.

The coming. Of their Messiah. The coming of the promised one. The king, the savior of the nation of Israel. The prophets again and again and again had been foretelling of the coming of the Messiah, the king of the Jews, the redeemer of his people and they were waiting and now, as we get to Matthew chapter one, the day has arrived.

The announcement is being made. As Matthew begins writing the gospel of Matthew, he is announcing the coming of the king of the Jews. Israel's Messiah, the fulfillment of the prophecies in the person of Jesus Christ. Let's read Matthew chapter one. The book of the generation of Jesus Christ.

The lineage of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham begat Isaac. Isaac begat Jacob and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren. Judas beget Phar and Phar and Zara of Tamar and Phar beget Ezra and Ezra beget Aram and Aram beget A Minadab. Minadab begot Na Na Na begat Sal Sal begot Bo Boaz of Rahab Boaz beget Obed of Ruth Obed be Jesse Jesse be David the king and the king beget Solomon of her that had been the wife of Uriah.

Solomon begat Reboam, Reboam begat Abaya, Baia begat Asa, so begat Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat, begat Joram. Joram begat Ozziahs. Ozziahs begat Joatham. Joatham begat Achaz or Ahaz, begat Hezekiah. Hezekiah begat Manasseh, Manasseh begat Ammon, Ammon begat Josiah, and Josiah begat Jeconiah, and his brethren about the time they were carried away to Babylon.

And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah begat Salathiel, Salathiel begat Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel begat Abiod and Abiod begat Eliakim and Eliakim begat Azor. Azor begat Sadak and Sadak begat Akim and Akim begat Eliud and Eliud begat Elijah. Elijah begat Nathan and Nathan begat Jacob. And Jacob beget Joseph, the husband of Mary of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ and remember, Christ is the same as the Hebrew Messiah, who begat the Messiah.

So, all the generations from Abraham to David were 14 generations from David under the carrying away into Babylon or 14 generations from the carrying away into Babylon under Christ or 14 generations. Now, the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise. When as his mother, Mary, was a spouse to Joseph before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. We can read about that in Luke chapter one. Then, Joseph, her husband, being a just man and not willing to make her a public example was minded to put her away privately.

He was going to divorce her privately rather than risk her her execution or humiliation by divorcing her publicly. They weren't married yet but they were betrothed in in Hebrew culture. If you were betrothed or we would call engaged, you actually had to divorce. There was a process to go to break that engagement. So, that's what it's speaking up here.

Verse 20, but while he fought on these things, behold the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost and she shall bring forth a son and thou shalt call his name Jesus For he shall save his people from their sins. The name Jesus means Jehovah is salvation or the Lord saves Verse 22, now all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet saying, behold a virgin shall be with child and shall bring forth a son and they shall call his name Emmanuel which being interpreted is God with us. We just read that verse a few minutes ago, Isaiah seven fourteen. Then, Joseph being raised from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him and took unto him his wife and knew her not till she had brought forth her first born son and he called his name Jesus. And so we have here Matthew's announcement of the birth of the promised one.

The promised Messiah of Israel. The one to whom for whom they had been longing and waiting. For now, hundreds of years, the time had come. Question, I have a few questions this morning as we we finish up the message. Question number one, why begin your gospel with a genealogy?

I mean, you know, often times when we read the Christmas story, we read from Luke. We read from Luke two. Sometimes, we might read a little from Luke one of of the angel Gabriel coming to Mary. But why does Matthew begin with a genealogy? For some people, you know, you read through a genealogy and think, yeah, this I just read through it and get it through, get to the good stuff but the genealogy here is the good stuff.

The genealogy is vital to the message that Matthew has to his people, the Jews, to to identifying the Messiah because you see, Jesus was prophesied. The Messiah was prophesied throughout the Old Testament to come through a specific lineage. Into this world. A human lineage. Into this world.

And it is very important that Matthew point out to his fellow Jews that Jesus fits the prophecies of the Old Testament that were given. The Messiah was to come beginning with Eve through Seth, her son, to Noah and through Noah's son, Shem. And then to Abraham, a descendant of Shem. This is where Matthew picks up his genealogy is here in Matthew one with Abraham and then he follows down through. Why is it that why is it you think that he doesn't start with Eve or Adam?

Or he doesn't start with Noah. Why is it that that Matthew begins with Abraham where in Luke's genealogy in Luke three, he goes from Mary all the way back to Adam. Why Luke one way and why Matthew another? Well, because Luke is not writing specifically to the Jews and he wants to emphasize Jesus humanity in general. That he is the son of man and that he is a son of Adam.

He is in essence the second Adam which is to come and to redeem all mankind. That's that's Luke's purpose. Matthew's purpose specifically is to a is a narrower audience and that is his gospel was written primarily to the Jews to convince them that Jesus is the promised Messiah and therefore, he begins with the father of the Jews and who is the father of the Jews? Abraham. Abraham.

Back in Genesis chapter 12 and verse three, we as we read earlier, God said to Abraham in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And as Paul points out in Galatians, the seed of Abraham through which we are all blessed will be Jesus Christ, the Messiah. Abraham is the father of the nation of Israel but more importantly, he is the one through whom which all of us have the opportunity to be saved in his descendant, Jesus Christ, the Messiah. And so Matthew begins with Abraham as he speaks to his fellow Jews of who Jesus is. He emphasizes not only Abraham but he also emphasizes King David in his genealogy.

David is the one whose throne was to be established in the person of the Messiah for how long? Forever. The Messiah and the savior of Israel was to be of the line and the lineage of King David. Look at a couple passages here. Second Samuel seven, God speaking to David.

He says, and when thy days be fulfilled, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers. I will set up thy seed, thy descendant after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever and thine house and thy kingdom shall be established forever before thee, thy throne shall be established forever. You you see any reoccurring theme in those verses? God is promising David, your descendant will come.

He will sit on your throne. He will establish your kingdom forever, forever, forever. This is God's promise to David and God's promise to Israel through the lineage and the line of David. Also, Isaiah nine six and seven. For unto us, a child is born unto us, a son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulders.

The authority of government and his name shall be called wonderful counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting father, the prince of peace. Of the increase of his government and peace, there shall be what? No end. Upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom, Israel, to order and to establish it with judgement and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

Israel had failed. The line of David had seemingly failed. The line of David did not stay true to the heart of David. There were many kings of Judah that were utter failures and had no regard for the God that established their throne. To the day that God finally said, that it's over and brought in Babylon to wipe out Jerusalem and to end the rule the line of David.

God even promised the last king said to the next to last king of Israel, his brother reigned after him, not his child. That none of his children would sit upon the throne. Things in a in a fashion seem lost without hope for Israel because Israel had failed. David's line had failed but Isaiah writes and he said, don't give up hope. All is not lost.

Man failed. Israel failed. David's line failed but God will not fail and despite the doom and gloom and the destruction that was going to come up on Israel in Babylon, Isaiah said, a child will be born and he will restore the throne to the lineage of David. He is the Messiah. Jesus Christ.

Why mention another question? Next question. Why mention certain women? You know, it wasn't the custom in Hebrew culture back in this day to mention women in a genealogy. A matter of fact, you usually see man begets son, son begets next son, so forth and so on.

But Matthew actually as led by the Holy Spirit mentioned several women in this genealogy mentions Rahab. He mentions Ruth. Obviously, he mentions Mary. Why why mention the women in a Hebrew genealogy? Well, when you go back to Genesis chapter three and verse 15, just before God kicked Adam and Eve out of the Garden Of Eden, he he made a promise.

He swore unto Satan, God's enemy. He said, I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed, her seed, not Adam's seed but the seed of the woman. Between your seed and her seed. Her seed will bruise your head. You will bruise his heel.

He, the seed of the woman, will bruise your head. We'll conquer Satan, will deal him a death blow. And so, when we get to the gen, the genealogy in Matthew, Matthew mentions women. Although a woman, Eve was deceived and partook of the forbidden fruit first, women played a pivotal role in the redemption of mankind. In the person of Ruth and women who obviously are not mentioned in this genealogy all the way down to Mary.

Because it was by the seed of the woman. That the Messiah would come into the world. It shows the great mercy and the incredible plan of almighty God in fulfilling the promise that he gave all the way back there in Genesis three fifteen. It also shows that more than just Jews were involved in the birth and the coming of Jesus Christ. You see, Ruth and Rahab weren't Jews.

Ruth and Rahab were born Gentiles. Ruth, a Moabite, a descendant of Lot but not of Abraham. And Rahab, a citizen of what city? When we, where do we meet Rahab? What what is she?

Where where does she live? Somebody help me out. Jericho. Rahab. Is a citizen of the city of Jericho.

She is a Canaanite. God told Joshua to go in to Canaan. He told him to kill or drive out every last Canaanite. God said, I want him gone I do not want them to be a stumbling block to my people. It's your land.

You drive them out But still we see that God made exceptions by grace through those who put his their faith in the God of Israel and Rahab when she hid the spies and protected them from the authorities expressed to the spies her faith in the God of Israel and so you know what God did? God made an exception. By grace, through faith, the faith of a harlot named Rahab of Jericho. He saved her and her relatives and her family, her house. Everything else fell in Jericho but her house remained.

And she was saved. And Rahab married Salmon, an Israelite, who gave birth to a boy named Boaz, who married a Moabite, named Ruth, who put her faith in the God of Israel, who had a son named Obed, who had a son named Jesse, who had a son, named David. And so we see God in his wisdom including women in a genealogy in a day when they weren't often included to remind us of his promise, to remind us of his grace. Why Joseph lineage and not Mary's? If you look in verse 16, it says, and Jacob begat Joseph, the husband of of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.

In Matthew, Matthew does not give us the genealogy of Mary who is the actual biological mother of Jesus humanity. He gives us instead the genealogy of Joseph who was not the biological father of David but the legal father of David. Why give us the genealogy of Joseph and not the genealogy of Mary? For this reason, Jesus was the rightful king of Israel. He was the rightful king of Israel by God's decree but he was also the rightful king of Israel via his legal lineage through his legal father, Joseph.

As you go through this lineage after you leave David, you see Solomon, you see Rehoboam, you see Jehoshaphat, you see Uzziah or Ozziah is spelled there. You see Hezekiah and Josiah. These are all kings. This is the royal house of David. These are the kings that ruled Judah.

Jesus legally is a descendant through Joseph, his adopted father into this line of the kings and so, Matthew who is identifying Jesus as the king of the Jews, he gives the royal line through Joseph down to Jesus who would be king and here here is a here is a neat thing that maybe you're unaware of and I mentioned earlier, Jeconiah, the one of the last kings of Israel and I said Zedekiah, his brother actually ruled after him but not his son. God pronounced a curse on the line of Jeconiah upon their bloodline that no one after him would rule as king of Israel. And here's the neat thing. The the prompt the Messiah was promised to be a seed of David and was thought to be through this royal lineage. That that made sense to the Jews but yet God pronounced a curse on their bloodline because of their failure to be loyal to God but here's the neat thing, Jesus is the legal descendant of Joseph but he is not of his wife.

He is not of his So, he has legal right to the throne of Israel and yet, he does not carry the curse upon the bloodline of Jeconiah. Isn't that wonderful? That neat? God, you know, I mean, this this really isn't that amazing. God is in control.

God knows what he's doing. It's neat to see how God puts all the puzzle pieces together. In the book of Luke, Luke gives the genealogy, I believe, of Mary. Both genealogies lead back to David. Mary, a descendant of Nathan, David's son, and Joseph, a descendant of Rehoboam or Solomon rather, David's son but both of them lead back to David, both his legal lineage and his bloodline lineage but through Mary, he doesn't go through the kingly line and thus, it's around the curse upon Jack and Ias.

Why so many quotes? When you read through the book of Matthew, even here in the first chapters, you're going to find several quotes of verses from the Old Testament. Why does Matthew quote so much from the Old Testament? Well, remember, Matthew was speaking to the Jews. The Jews were familiar with the Old Testament scriptures particularly the prophecies occurring concerning the coming of the Messiah.

So, as he gives his announcement and proclaims the coming of Jesus Christ, he quotes a lot from the Old Testament more than the other books do. In order to show the Jews that Jesus is the one. That all of these Old Testament prophets were talking about. Why call him Jesus? You know, Joseph and Mary did not choose his name.

Realize that? God told them to name him Jesus. They didn't choose it. God chose it. Matthew includes that in his message, in his gospel in verse 21.

It says, and she shall bring God speaking through the angel to Joseph in a dream and she shall bring forth a son and thou shalt call his name Jesus. That's a command. You will call his name Jesus. That is to be his name. In verse 25, it says, of Joseph, he knew her not until the day she had brought forth her firstborn son and called his name Jesus.

You look back up in verse 21, it says, and thou shalt call his name Jesus for he shall save his people from their sins. He shall save his people from their sins. He shall be called Jesus, the Lord saves because he, the Messiah, will come into the world for the purpose of saving. The Jews. Consequently, we learn not only did he come to save the Jews from their sins but he came to save all those who put their faith in Christ.

From their sins. And so name him Jesus. Because that's who he is. He is the Lord, the savior, the savior of Israel, and the savior of the world. Back again, Isaiah sixty two eleven, behold, the Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, say, the daughter of Zion, behold thy salvation cometh.

His reward is with him and his work before him. Thou salve, that's who Jesus is. He is salvation. That's what his name means and that's what God promised to Israel. They were looking for a king to rule.

Most of them were only looking for a king to rule. They didn't recognize that they also needed who? A savior to save them from their sins. But that is who Jesus is. He's not only king but he is savior and in Zechariah nine nine, rejoice greatly, oh daughter of Zion, oh daughter of Jerusalem, behold thy king cometh.

He is just and having what? And having salvation. The Jews interpreted that many of them as that he is coming to deliver us from Rome. But there is a much bigger problem that we and the Jews have much more terrible despot and tyrant that we served in sin called Satan. Christ didn't come to save Israel from Rome.

He came to save Israel from sin and Satan. That's why he came. For you as well. Sad to say many of the Jews then and still today do not recognize their savior. Why the king's visit instead of the shepherds when you read in Matthew chapter two, it begins to tell us of the visit of the Magi or the three kings that we sang about a few minutes ago.

In Luke, we read about the angels announcing the birth of Jesus to the shepherds and we read about the the adoration of the shepherds. Of the humility of Jesus Christ and the worship of those who were humble in this world For Jesus Christ came to save sinners considered poor in the spirit The shepherds being an example of that. Priests, not kings, but shepherds but in Matthew in Matthew two, we have the record of the coming of the kings not the shepherds. Why is that? Well, to demonstrate that Christ is what?

Is king of kings and Lord of lords. The kings came to worship, to bow down, and to bring gifts to him. They were acknowledging his authority over their authority. That he is the king of kings. And the Lord of lords.

Not only the king of the Jews. But the king of all. As the Jews were awaiting the coming of the Messiah and their day, we await his return in ours. One day, Christ will return. He said, let not your heart beat your heart be troubled.

You believe in God, believe also in me My father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come. Again, and receive you unto myself that where I am there, you may be also. Jesus told of the day he would return for his people, the day he will return to establish his throne in Israel and to fulfill the rest of those prophecies having to do with his reign but the first time he came, he did not come to reign as the Jews expected.

No, he came to die. Mark ten twenty forty five, for even the son of man came not to be ministered unto but to minister and to give his life a ransom for many. Jesus said, the reason I came. This time, was not to rule yet, not in a physical throne, in a physical city. But to rule in the hearts of people.

Who would in faith submit themselves subjects of my kingdom children, my family, through faith and his death on Calvary's Cross and his resurrection from the tomb. He came to serve us. He came to serve Israel. He healed the blind. He healed the sick.

And then he died for them as he died for us. He served us One day, he will return as king to be adored and served. Matthew five eight, but God commended his love toward us and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Galatians four, four, and five, mentioned at the banquet, my favorite Christmas passage. Parites, but when the fullness of time was come and God's time was right, God sent forth his son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law.

That we might receive the adoption of sons. Jesus came to redeem fallen humanity, came to redeem the Jews who were lost in sin as well. Their Messiah, their savior. That they through faith in him might be saved. Many of them rejected him.

But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become sons of God. Even to them that believe on his name. To the Jew and to the Greek, to the Jew and to the Gentile, all who receive him. Are welcomed into his family. Are welcomed in his kingdom Will you today receive him as your Lord and king?

What greater day to celebrate being born again and two days before Christmas The Bible says, behold today is the day of salvation Jesus came for you Jesus died for you The promised Messiah of Israel but the savior of the world. Have you welcomed him into your heart by faith? Have you humbled yourself? To bow before him as Lord and savior. Have you been born again?

Are you part of his kingdom? Because one day, he will return. For you. When he comes, will you be ready? That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, shall believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

That is his plea to you today. If you're not saved We give this hymn of invitation in just a moment. I plead with you to come. I would love to show you today that you might be saved in all. Let's pray.

Dear heavenly father, thank you Lord. For your word, thank you. For the gift of your son, for what you did for us on Calvary's Cross that we might be saved. We look forward to the day when we will see you again. We thank you Lord for the precious promises of your word.

And the fulfillment of your first coming. Pray Lord if there be one here today that's never received you as Lord and savior of their life that they might receive the gift of your son and that of eternal life through him today that they would humble themselves. Come to you in faith. Believing that you died for them and receiving you as Lord and savior We pray in Jesus name