“So that He might Redeem”
Galatians 4:1-7

Last Sunday we talked about what I believe to be
The most significant part of Christmas, and that is the incarnation.

God didn’t just put on a human body…
God didn’t just get inside a human and cohabitate in order to closely associate…

In short, God didn’t just observe man.
GOD BECAME MAN

And we talked about why that had to happen.

This morning I want to show you how timely it was,
And the extreme benefit we gain from it.

Some of you may remember our study of the book of Galatians,
But for those who did not take part,
Allow me to give you the overall point of the letter.

The Galatians were a region of churches consisting of such churches as Antioch, Lystra, Derbe, & Iconium

What you may also remember is that that region
Was a hot-bed for legalistic Judaism.

(In fact it was Jews from Antioch & Iconium
That followed Paul to Lystra in order to have him stoned)

So it is no surprise that those same Judaisers who attacked Paul
Are now attacking the churches he planted in the region.

And their main objective is to turn the Galatians
Back into a legalistic religion.

The main argument centers around the concept of circumcision.
Faith in Christ alone is not enough.
You must also adhere to the Law.
(You must be Jewish, not just Christian)

(Today it could be baptism or worship on Saturday, or missions)

Certainly the church today affirms the importance of good works,
But as fruit of salvation, not a means unto salvation.

Ephesians 2:8-10 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”
And I might as well point out that this is
Precisely what circumcision was as well.

This is clearly seen in Abraham.
Romans 4:9-12 “Is this blessing then on the circumcised, or on the uncircumcised also? For we say, “FAITH WAS CREDITED TO ABRAHAM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.” How then was it credited? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised; and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while uncircumcised, so that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness might be credited to them, and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also follow in the steps of the faith of our father Abraham which he had while uncircumcised.”

And so even circumcision, as with all religious works,
Was merely a symbol of salvation, but not a means unto it.

But the Judaisers insisted otherwise and attacked the Galatian churches
Seeking desperately to draw them back under their spiritual control.

And so we see the purpose for Paul’s letter.
1) To clarify the true gospel of salvation by grace alone through faith alone.
2) To condemn the heretics who were promoting a false gospel
3) To chastise the Galatians for being so gullible as to buy their deceptions

And that can be clearly seen from a complete study of the book of Galatians.

This morning we are in one of the gospel clarifying portions.
WE SEE ONE OF THE BENEFITS OF CHRIST’S COMING

3 things
#1 OUR SLAVERY
Galatians 4:1-3

You immediately notice that Paul is speaking
In an illustrative sense as he speaks of an heir.

This is actually a concept he began in the previous chapter.

God had made a promise to Abraham.
A promise of blessing on him and his seed. (Not Israel, but Jesus)

And the idea is that if we desire to be heirs of that promise
We must become children of Abraham, or of His seed, Jesus.

And that is precisely what happens when we come to faith in Christ.
Galatians 3:26-29 “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.”
When we are IN CHRIST then we are automatically heirs of the promise
That God made to Him and to Abraham.

And Paul now carries that same theme into chapter 4.
(1-2) “Now I say, as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave although he is owner of everything, but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by the father.”

And I hope you understand the implication.
Your father may be a multi-millionaire,
And you may indeed be set to inherit the entire estate,
But while you are a child you have no say in the matter nor control of it.

Instead you are held back, taught, and trained
Until the day you are ready to assume responsibility.

We understand it in our culture; certainly it was true of a Jewish boy.

Jewish boys don’t officially become men until their bar mitzvah
On the first Sabbath after their 13th birthday.

Until that day, they are “under guardians and managers”

These are intended to prepare the boy
To become the man that his father expects him to be.

Paul then takes that reality and makes a spiritual parallel to it.
(3) “So also we, while we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world.”

Paul says what is true for every Jewish boy in a cultural sense
Is true of us all in a spiritual sense.

“while we were children”
Is Paul speaking of just age here? – No.

He is using the term “children”
As a statement of ignorance and immaturity.

Look down at verse 8,
Galatians 4:8 “However at that time, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those which by nature are no gods.”

And so it is clear he is not just saying when we were younger,
But when we were immature and ignorant
And more specifically did not know God.

He goes on to say in verse 3
That we were “held in bondage under the elemental things of the world.”
Just as a young boy often feels held back by all the rules
So was the same for us.

WHAT ARE “the elemental things of the world.”?

We can gain much insight later in the text.
Galatians 4:8-11 “However at that time, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those which by nature are no gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again? You observe days and months and seasons and years. I fear for you, that perhaps I have labored over you in vain.”
Paul said in verse 9 that they were
Turning back “to the weak and worthless elemental things”

WHAT ARE THEY?
Verse 10, “You observe days and months and seasons and years”

And so it becomes clear to us that the “elemental things”
That enslaved us was a life under legalistic religious ordinance.

And this is true elsewhere as well.
TURN TO: COLOSSIANS 2:16-23

To them the “elemental things of the world”
Looked like obedience to God’s Law, but it wasn’t.

In reality it was sensual, Phariseestic, arrogant, self-glorifying,
Mystical, and absolutely worthless ritual.

But that is where the Galatians were formerly enslaved.

Allow me to develop the picture a little further.

Galatians 3:23-24 “But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed. Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.”

And so there we see that the Law was a tutor.
It was not the final aim, but was a tool to lead us further.

And according to Galatians 4:1-2 the guardians and managers
Were intended to tutor us with this curriculum
To prepare us for a true relationship with the Father.

But the problem was that the guardians and managers
Corrupted their purpose, and kept us separated from the Father
And from our inheritance by forever keeping us under the Law.

Matthew 23:13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.”

Why did the guardians and mangers do this?

Because with the heir out of the way,
They wished to seize the inheritance.

Remember the parable of the vineyard that Jesus gave?

The Father sent slaves to reap the produce of the vineyard,
But the tenants beat the slaves and robbed them.

So the Father then sent the Son to collect the payment.

Matthew 21:38 “But when the vine-growers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’”

And this is what Paul is revealing.

We were formerly enslaved under corrupt guardians,
Who desired to keep us under the Law forever,
And therefore to prevent us from obtaining our inheritance.

We couldn’t get the inheritance because we were trapped in religion.

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TRAPPED IN RELIGION?
Men do this on purpose to keep you loyal to them,
And they never really turn you loose to serve Christ.

[I was angered at a Seventh Day Adventist Church]

He keeps his pews packed with a fear tactic
That if they miss they fall out of fellowship with God
And incur His wrath.

We’ve seen other religions and denominations do the same.
• If you aren’t here every Sunday to partake of the Lord’s Supper…
• If you don’t participate in Mass or confession…
• If you don’t spend two years on a bicycle as a missionary…

And with such threats, they steal any sense of security,
And keep people enslaved under those “elemental things”.

And that is where we all were.

The slavery of trying desperately to make God love us
Through our persistent dedication to ritual and religion.
#2 OUR SAVIOR
Galatians 4:4-5

God sent His Son to change our slavery into sonship.

“when the fullness of the time came”

It means when the time on God’s calendar was finally here.
When the time was right, when God’s appointed time came to fruition.

And I also see a hint of attitude here.

It is almost like saying, “When God had had enough”
When God had had His fill of the guardians and managers.

Then “God sent forth His Son”

And that can certainly be seen in the attitude of Jesus can’t it.

And when God had had His fill,
He “sent for His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law”

And as we studied Sunday
“born of a woman” – because God had to be man
“born under the Law” – because He had to bear our burden

Romans 8:1-3 “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,”

He came in our likeness to fight our battle and earn our victory.

(5) “so that He might redeem those who were born under the Law,”
He came to this earth as a man to fulfill the Law
And then to spread His success to us.

The guardians and managers forever held the Law over our head. And as long as we failed, they had grounds to keep us in line.

But Christ came and perfectly fulfilled it,
And He forged a way for us to be set free.

“that we might receive the adoption as sons.”
• He fulfilled the Law (our tutor)
• He set us free from the guardians and managers

HE USHERED IN OUR BAR MITZVAH
He made it possible for us to quit being a slave
And start enjoying the benefits of being a son.

AND THE BIGGEST ASPECT IS SECURITY.
(If we learn anything from the prodigal, it’s the security of a son)

We no longer walk in fear of God rejecting us.
Now we have been adopted. He has selected us,
He has signed the papers, He has made us His sons.

We now enjoy a status with God that can never be undone.

Jesus made that happen.
He had seen enough of the legalistic abuses taking place
Keeping people from their right as heirs of God
And He came to earth as a man to set us free.

2 Corinthians 8:9 “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.”

Our Slavery, Our Savior
#3 OUR STATUS
Galatians 4:6-7

Perhaps a child had lived in an orphanage waiting to be selected.
• But every time a couple comes to visit he makes some sort of mistake, and the couple chooses another child.
• He is trapped by his own failures and lives in fear of never being found worthy.
• But then one day a family takes him home and tells him he is their son.
• But because of the boys history of rejection he has difficulty believing them.

Until one day he finds his adoption certificate
And sees the seal stamped on the paper that reveals
That he is now a son forever and it can never be changed.

Verse 6 is our certificate.
(6) “Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”

HOW DO I KNOW I AM A SON?
Because God worked a change in you
That caused you to look at Him as a Father.

He poured His Spirit into us, and that is why we naturally cry out to Him “Abba! Father!”

Which is a very personal term equivalent to our phrase “Daddy”
God made us a son through Jesus.
He makes us feel like a son by giving us His Spirit

Romans 5:5 “and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

Romans 8:15-17 “For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.”

Because of the Spirit, we know we are sons of God.

(7) “Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.”

And there we see again the point of Christmas.

To set us free from the fear instigated by the guardians
And to move us into the security of being an adopted child of God.

And because we are sons, we are heirs.

All the promises that God made to Abraham
All the blessings of Scripture

They are yours.
You can’t lose them…
Never to be revoked…

God adopted you and chose to give them to you,
And they are forever yours, because Jesus set us free to be sons.

And so this morning I want you to have a Merry Christmas
Realizing the absolute security found in being a son of God.

Furthermore I want you to bask in the joy of knowing
That you have an inheritance that your Father has stored up for you

And it is made possible all because
God became a man and made it possible.

2 Corinthians 8:9 “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.”

The Incarnation

I don’t usually preach sermons like this one.
I much rather prefer to take a text and do an exposition on that text
In order to leave you with only the word of God.

And that was my intention this morning as well.
In fact, I was studying Galatians 4.

Galatians 4:4-5 “But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.”

And we may indeed examine that passage more on Christmas morning, but as I studied I was drawn in to
The two prerequisites that the Savior had to meet.
“born of a woman”
“born under the Law”

I began to study the fact that “God sent forth His Son, born of a woman”

You and I refer to this mystery as “The Incarnation”

And the incarnation is itself the very essence of Christmas.

Matthew 1:21-23 “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL,” which translated means, “GOD WITH US.”

Christmas is all about the fact
That God became man and dwelt among us.
Every other focus of Christmas is at best secondary
And at worst insignificant.

I actually get agitated easily
In regard to all that goes on around Christmas time.

Certainly the commercialism is aggravating.
I could really care less about Santa Claus and reindeer or the many other secular figures of the holiday. And at times the focus on them at the exclusion of Christ is irritating.

But I even tend to get frustrated with the church
Because even while seeking to remain spiritual even the church has a tendency to miss the point.

CHRISTMAS IS NOT ABOUT A BABY

But most of the time “baby Jesus” is all we hear about at Christmas.
“Away in a manger, no crib for a bed, the little Lord Jesus lay down His sweet head, the stars in the sky look down where He lay, the little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay.”

It’s sweet, it’s cute, it makes a hallmark moment,
But it tremendously misses the point.

THE POINT OF CHRISTMAS IS THAT GOD BECAME FLESH
The incarnation is the point.

Colossians 2:9 “For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form,”

Romans 8:3 “For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,”

2 Corinthians 8:9 “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.”
And perhaps the pinnacle verse in all of Scripture.

John 1:14 “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

GOD BECAME FLESH
It is absolutely marvelous and absolutely essential.

And this morning I just wanted to talk to you a little about it,
And hopefully help you see why Christmas is such a big deal.

So let’s talk about the Incarnation.

FIRST – WHAT IS IT?

• What does it mean to say that God became flesh?
• What exactly is the mystery involving the person and nature of Jesus Christ?

YOU MUST KNOW THAT THROUGHOUT THE CENTURIES
THIS TOPIC HAS BEEN HEAVILY DEBATED.

In 381 AD the Nicene Creed was finalized which confirmed
The deity of Jesus by hammering out the nature of the trinity.

The final ruling was that God was one nature revealed in three persons.
God the Father
God the Son
God the Holy Spirit

And it nailed down the fact that Jesus was God
And branded a heretic out of anyone who denied the fact.
That trouble however bubbled over
Into the issue regarding the person of Christ.

Certainly no one was going to deny that Jesus was God,
But the question became in what sense can He have been human?

I can’t really spend a whole lot of time here,
And I certainly don’t want to bog you down with it,
But it is beneficial to give you just a brief glimpse of the struggle
So that you can solidify the nature of Jesus,
And also know the difference between truth and heresy.

The battle can really come down to a fight
Between two cities and two ways of thinking.
(both of which wanted more control in the power of the church)

Alexandria, whose theologians focused on the deity of Jesus.
Antioch, whose theologians focused on the humanity of Jesus.

ALEXANDRIAN THEOLOGIANS

Appollinarius – “God in a Bod”

Jesus was divine God simply wearing a human body.

He saw Jesus as appearing human,
But not as one who had a human nature as ours,
Which was frail and weak and subject to temptation.

He was condemned as a heretic in 381

Eutyches – “Jesus the Hybrid”

The divine nature of Christ and the human nature of Jesus
Sort of merged to make a single “hybrid” nature
In which the divine swallowed up the human.

He also was condemned.

Each left Jesus as God, but failed to make Him fully human,
Unable to identify with man, not really tempted by sin,
And therefore one who could not possibly be their redeemer.

The main question against them being:
“How can Christ heal what He has not assumed?”

 

ANTIOCHAN THEOLOGIANS

Nestorius – “Jesus as two persons”

He taught that Christ was two natures and two persons,
Both dwelling in one body.
(Sort of like a schizophrenic)

Only in Jesus, His man nature just did
What the God nature told Him to do.
(But the two were still separate persons and natures)

While the two did associate closely,
They were still distinct from one another.
(He described it like a marriage)

The problem is that this could have been true of any prophet.
Real human heavily influenced by the divine.

Nestorius was condemned as a heretic and exiled into the desert.

THE PROBLEM WITH ALL THREE
They left the Son of God never truly entering human existence,
Only relating to it through His association with the man Jesus.

All had extreme difficulty with God becoming human.
Humans were weak
Humans suffer
Humans are tempted by sin

AND WHILE SOME RECOGNIZED JESUS AS HUMAN,
NONE COULD ENVISION GOD AS HUMAN.

In 451 at the council of Chalcedon the solution was reached
The solution became known as the hypostatic union

“In agreement, therefore, with the holy fathers we all unanimously teach that we should confess that our Lord Jesus Christ is one and the same Son; that same perfect in Godhead and the same perfect in manhood, truly God and truly man, the same of rational soul and body; consubstantial with the Father in Godhead and the same consubstantial with us in manhood; like us in all things except sin; begotten of the Father before all ages as regards his Godhead and in the last days the same, for us and for our salvation, begotten of the Virgin Mary the Theotokos as regards his manhood; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, only-begotten, made known in two natures without confusion, without change, without division, without separation; the difference of the natures being by no means removed because of the union but the property of each nature being preserved and coalescing in one person and one hypostasis, not parted or divided into two persons but one and the same Son, only-begotten, divine Word, the Lord Jesus Christ; as the prophets of old and Jesus Christ himself have taught us about him, and the creed of our fathers has handed down.”
And the most notable phrase from the document was this:
“made known in two natures without confusion, without change,
without division, without separation”

He was “without confusion, without change” – not a hybrid
He was “without division, without separation” – not two separate persons

“the property of each nature being preserved and coalescing in one person and one hypostasis, not parted or divided into two persons but one and the same Son, only-begotten, divine Word, the Lord Jesus Christ”

They declared Jesus fully God and fully man.
In Jesus God became man.

Furthermore they denounced and condemned anything short of that.

I tell you that because I want you to see what the incarnation isn’t

It is NOT God co-dwelling with man inside the body of Jesus.
NOR is it God just wearing a human body.

The mystery of Christ is that He was fully God and fully man.

He was two natures and one person.

God is 3 who’s and 1 what (3 persons, 1 nature)
Jesus is 2 what’s and 1 who (2 natures, 1 person)

Don’t look at Jesus as a man who yielded to God’s nature
Don’t look at Jesus as God in a man’s body
JESUS IS GOD WHO BECAME MAN

Philippians 2:6-7 “who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.”

“form” translates MORPHE
It relates to the very essence of a person.

John MacArthur notes that it is
The absolute unchangeable feature of a person.

You can change your hair, change your nose, change your weight
But you cannot change the fact that you are a human.

So it is with Christ. “He existed in the form of God”
He then took “the form of a bond-servant”

He was both in one
Adrian Rogers said,
“He was so much God that it was as though He was not man. He was so much man that it was as though He was not God.”

And so when we say that God “became flesh and dwelt among us”
We don’t mean that God just put on a body. God became human.

He suffered… He was tempted… He wept… He slept…
He thirsted… He was weary… He was frustrated… He died…

He didn’t just observe man, He didn’t just appear like a man,
He was God who became man.

That is what the incarnation is.
SECONDLY – WHY DO WE NEED IT?

WHY DID GOD HAVE TO BECOME A MAN?

I asked that question to Peggy this week and she said, “For us”.

The quickest answer to the question is: SALVATION
God had to became man in order to make salvation possible.

BUT WHY?
(4 reasons)
1) TO BE A MEDIATOR BETWEEN GOD AND MAN

On one hand we were separated from God.

From the day man was removed from the garden,
He has been separated from God; unable to enter His presence.

This was most clearly seen in Israel’s building of a tabernacle
In which the veil was raised to separate man from the Holy of Holies.

God is infinitely holy, man is totally wicked
And the gap between the two was immeasurable.

Furthermore we are two different natures.
Yes we are made in God’s image,
But apart from salvation, we do not share in His nature.

We are different, and separated.

There was then the necessity of a mediator between the two parties.
One who was God who can associate with God
And one who was man who could associate with man.

God could not come to man, and man alone could not get to God.
There had to be one who could bridge the gap.

In steps Jesus.
1 Timothy 2:5-6 “For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.”

TURN TO: ROMANS 5:1-11

This entire chapter drips with the concept of Christ as mediator.
To recognize that simply look for the number of times
The word “through” is mentioned.

VERSE 1 – Peace with God
VERSE 2 – Access to Grace
VERSE 9 – Salvation from God’s wrath
VERSE 10 – Reconciliation with God
VERSE 11 – Rejoicing in God

All of those realities come through the agency of the mediator.
He is the channel through which peace, and grace, and salvation,
And forgiveness, and blessing flow.

The incarnation made that a possibility.

The 2nd person in the God-head became man
To be a mediator between God and man.

2) THE INABILITY OF MAN TO SAVE HIMSELF

Another reason why God had to become man
Is because man had no means to bring salvation to himself.
(we don’t have time to go through the futility of man’s works)

It was not possible for a man to save mankind,
God had to become man to make it possible.

WHY? – Adam
Romans 5:12 “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned”

Thanks to Adam we are all born with a sin nature
And are already displeasing to God.

David said:
Psalms 51:5 “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.”

And because of this any man born of Adam
Was already disqualified to be an acceptable sacrifice to God.
This is in essence why John is weeping in Revelation.

Revelation 5:1-4 “I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a book written inside and on the back, sealed up with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals?” And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the book or to look into it. Then I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look into it;”

It was the same problem that was revealed by the prophets.
Ezekiel 22:30 “I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one.”

Jeremiah 5:1 “Roam to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, And look now and take note. And seek in her open squares, If you can find a man, If there is one who does justice, who seeks truth, Then I will pardon her.”

It was not possible for man to redeem man,
Because all men were unacceptable to God.

We’ve read Romans 3.
Romans 3:10-18 “as it is written, “THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.” “THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN GRAVE, WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY KEEP DECEIVING,” “THE POISON OF ASPS IS UNDER THEIR LIPS”; “WHOSE MOUTH IS FULL OF CURSING AND BITTERNESS”; “THEIR FEET ARE SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD, DESTRUCTION AND MISERY ARE IN THEIR PATHS, AND THE PATH OF PEACE THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN.” “THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES.”

Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

There was no man who could stand in the gap and redeem God’s people.

GOD WOULD HAVE TO BECOME MAN
Isaiah 59:16 “And He saw that there was no man, And was astonished that there was no one to intercede; Then His own arm brought salvation to Him, And His righteousness upheld Him.”

Isaiah 63:4-5 “For the day of vengeance was in My heart, And My year of redemption has come. “I looked, and there was no one to help, And I was astonished and there was no one to uphold; So My own arm brought salvation to Me, And My wrath upheld Me.”

In Revelation 5, after John wept, he was comforted.
Revelation 5:5 “and one of the elders said to me, “Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals.”

Jesus wasn’t born of Adam, He was born of a virgin.
Jesus was God made man and capable of saving mankind.
One writer wrote:
“Why did God become a man? …because God is infinitely Holy, even the smallest sin is infinitely offensive to Him. As a result, an infinite payment must be made for the sins of each and every person. Now there are two ways by which an infinite payment can be offered: a finite person could suffer God’s wrath for an infinite period of time, or an infinite person could suffer God’s wrath for a finite period of time. Both yield an infinite payment for sin.”

Jesus was an infinite person who suffered for a finite period of time.

God became man to be a mediator.
God became man because man was incapable of saving himself
3) THE NEED OF MAN FOR A SUBSTITUTE

We know man couldn’t save himself.
But why did God have to be A MAN?

Why couldn’t He just stay God and do it?

Man was guilty before God and man must pay the penalty.

Scripture clearly indicates that other sacrifices
Are not permanently acceptable.
Hebrews 10:4 “For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”

Man sinned and man must pay.
And the penalty? -Death

The only way the penalty could be paid is if a man paid it.
To accomplish this God had to become man.

Hebrews 2:9 “But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.”

Colossians 1:19-20 “For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.”

1 Peter 2:24 “and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.”

If God doesn’t become man then God can’t be a substitute for man.

To be a mediator – Because man is unable – to be a substitute

4) TO PERFECT THE SAVIOR’S ROLE AS A PRIEST

And before you pass that off as insignificant, you should know
That the security of your salvation hangs upon that fact.
Hebrews 7:23-25 “The former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing, but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently. Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”

The security of our salvation rests upon
The continual intercession of the Savior on our behalf.

But you must also understand that in order
To be an effective priest, something had to occur.

TURN TO: HEBREWS 5:1-10

VERSES 1-4 = requirements for a normal priest
(1) “taken from among men”
(1) “appointed on behalf of men”
(1) “to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins”
(2) “deal gently with the ignorant and misguided”
(3) “he is obligated”

VERSE 5 – “So also Christ”

VERSE 8 – “Although He was a Son,
He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.”

I don’t know what it does to your theology to see that Jesus learned.
Many take issue with that because Jesus was omniscient God.

How could God learn?
God can’t, for He knows all,
But Jesus was also fully man, and man can learn.

Luke 2:40 “The Child continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.”

Luke 2:52 “And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.”

And in Hebrews it says, “He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.”

What it means is that He learned the role
Of an effective high priest because He suffered.

There has only ever been one way to learn sympathy,
And that is similar suffering.

You can witness a burn victim, treat a burn victim, live with a burn victim, but until you are burned you cannot truly sympathize.
(Your education is lacking)
If Jesus was to be a faithful high priest He would have to suffer.

He suffered more than any other man.
“A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief”

But it worked.
VERSE 9 – “And having been made perfect, He became to all who those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation,”

He could be a high priest
Because He became human and suffered as a human.

Had He only been God, watching from a distance,
He could have never fully known the struggles of humanity.

Hebrews 2:10 “For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings.”

He had to become man to know:
• Why obedience is so hard…
• Why temptation is so effective…
• Why death is such a fearful thing…

And so He became man and learned it.

Hebrews 2:17-18 “Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.”

Hebrews 4:15 “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.”

And that is only possible because God became man.

IT IS THE ABSOLUTE BEAUTY OF THE INCARNATION.
God didn’t just associate closely with man.
God didn’t just appear like a man.
God actually became a man.

In Christ Jesus there were two natures in one person.
He was just as much man as He was God.

• Christmas is not about a man and a woman finding shelter in a barn…
• Christmas is not about a baby sleeping on the hay…
• Christmas is not about shepherds and sheep…
• Christmas is not even about God coming near…

CHRISTMAS IS ABOUT GOD BECOMING MAN

Not God in a man’s body
Not God forcing His will on a man’s conscience
Not God closely observing the nature of a man

Christmas is about God becoming man.

St. Augustine wrote:
“The Word of the Father by whom all time was created was made flesh and was born in time for us. He without whose divine permission no day completes its course wished to have one day for His human birth. In the bosom of His Father He existed before all the cycles of ages, born of an earthly mother He entered upon the course of the years. The maker of man became man that He, ruler of the stars, might be nourished at the breast, that He the bread might be hungry, that He the fountain might thirst, that He the light might sleep, that He the way might be weary by journey, that He the truth might be accused by false witnesses, that He the judge of the living and the dead might be brought to trial by a mortal judge, that He justice might be condemned by the unjust, that He discipline might be scourged with whips, that He the foundation might be suspended on a cross, that He courage might be weakened, that He security might be wounded, that He life might die. To endure these and similar indignities for us, to free us, unworthy creatures, He who existed as the Son of God before all ages without beginning, deigned to become the Son of Man in these recent years. He did this although He who submitted to great evils for our sakes had done no evil, and although [we] who were the recipients of so much good at His hands had done nothing to merit these benefits.”
(quoted by John MacArthur in his sermon “The Inside Story of the Incarnation” – Philippians 2:6-11 / 80-205)
This Christmas I want you to look past the simplicity of the manger
And marvel in the absolute beauty of the incarnation.

God did what was inconceivable.
God actually became man.

And because of that we have a Mediator,
We have a Savior, we have a Substitute,
And we have a Great High Priest who truly understands what we are going through.

Rejoice in the Incarnation!

John 1:14 “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

“THE NATIVITY”

For the last week, Carrie and I have been going through the little nativity set called “What God Wants for Christmas”.

Each night comes with the story
Of one of the individual characters of the Christmas Story.

As we read the story of each person, each night,
I really found myself thinking a little deeper about the part they played.

By looking at them each briefly this morning,
We can learn how we are called to respond to Christmas.

In America, Christmas has become a “BIG DEAL”.
Maybe not always for the right reasons, but it is a big deal.

And sometimes, without even meaning to,
We can get caught up in the flow and completely miss the point.

That is why you hear so many people at Christmas giving reminders like:
“Jesus is the Reason for the Season”

It is a call to remember that Christmas
Is not about presents, or eggnog, or sleigh rides,
But it is in fact all about the day that our Savior entered the world.

I don’t know how that makes you feel,
But this morning, I want to show you how the 6 major characters
Of the nativity felt and precisely how they responded.

Maybe our lives will be challenged to respond in much the same way.
#1 THE ANGELS
Luke 1:26-27

Of course this is not the only place the angels are mentioned,
But this verse does give us the insight about what took place.

Verse 26 says, “Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth,”

If we did not know that Gabriel was an angel,
And if we did not know that we were talking about Christmas,
That verse would be used continually to talk about MISSIONS.

Something great was about to happen,
And God wanted a messenger to share the good news.

Aside from the wise men (who followed a star)
It was the angels who broke the story.

• Gabriel approached Joseph…
• Here Gabriel told Mary…
• It was an Angel who summoned the shepherds…

The angels were not just bystanders they had a mission.

Now I know we tend to keep a lofty view of angels as spiritual beings,
And rightly so. There is no doubt they are far from merely human.

But in some regards we do share similarities.
• Angels are not gods – they are created being just as we are.
• Angels are not the object of worship – they worship God just as we do.
• Angels aren’t automatically good, they must choose to obey.
(We know this because 1/3 chose not to and followed Satan)

I tell you that, because I want you to understand
That their decision to spread the word was precisely that
A DECISION

God had given them a mission, they had to choose to fulfill it.

What do we learn from the angels?
RESPONSIBILITY

We opened the service this morning with the famous Christmas song:
“Go Tell it on the Mountain”

It is the Christmas song that begs us to share with the world
This wonderful truth we have found.

Oswald J. Smith
“We talk of the Second Coming;
Half of the world has never heard of the first.”

We cannot keep such great news a secret.
God has come to dwell among us, the world has to know.

Matthew 28:19-20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

The angels did their part, now we must do ours.

#2 MARY
Luke 1:26-38

Here was Mary, a young Jewish girl with an obvious heart for God.
Then she gets “The Curve Ball” of the century.

(31-33) “Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.”
Sometimes our familiarity with a story
Keeps us from actually seeing what took place.

Put yourself in the shoes of this teenage girl.
Plans of marriage…
Planning a life…
Then, an angel enters, and says, “You are going to have a baby.”
“Excuse me?”

(34) “Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”

She is reminding the angel of the obvious problem.
You can’t have a child if you are a virgin.

The angel has the answer to that question.
(35) “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will over-shadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.”

Oh, well that solves everything. – NOT HARDLY.

Pregnancy of an unwed woman
Tends to be a dead give-a-way of sexual immorality.

Deuteronomy 22:23-24 “If there is a girl who is a virgin engaged to a man, and another man finds her in the city and lies with her, then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city and you shall stone them to death; the girl, because she did not cry out in the city, and the man, because he has violated his neighbor’s wife. Thus you shall purge the evil from among you.”

She is about to be pregnant,
And then left with the task of proving she is the first girl in history
Who actually got pregnant without being with a man.

Can you see here dilemma?

Yet look at Mary’s final response.
(38) “And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.”
There is no doubt what we learn from Mary:
FAITH

She was willing to commit not only her body to God,
But also her REPUTATION, and even her RELATIONSHIP with Joseph.

Mary could lose everything by obeying this command,
But she chose to trust God.

Christmas is all about faith.
We must believe that Jesus actually was born of a virgin,
That He really is the Savior,
And that He will come again just as He came the first time.

For this belief, the world may mock and scorn,
And this belief may even cost us our reputation,
Some relationships, and maybe even bodily harm.

But Christmas requires faith.
Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”

Mary had it.

#3 JOSEPH
Matthew 1:18-25

Here is another one of those “curve balls” in life.
All of a sudden your fiancé turns up pregnant

No doubt she told him the story.
“No, honest Joseph, I’ve been faithful.”

But it’s awful hard to dismiss the evidence of a pregnancy,
So he is going to divorce her privately to at least avoid the stoning.

And then the angel comes to Joseph.
(20) “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a Son; and you shall call Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

This angel is now asking Joseph to enter into the shame
That Mary has been facing publicly.

EVERYONE WILL THINK HE IS THE FATHER
(why else would he marry her?)

But look at what Joseph does.
(24) “And Joseph awoke from his sleep and DID AS THE ANGEL OF THE LORD COMMANDED HIM, and took Mary as his wife, but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.”

What do we learn from Joseph?
OBEDIENCE

He did what he was told.
Not only to marry her, but also to keep her a virgin.

In our day, we see unwed pregnancy everywhere.
Many don’t wait until marriage, Joseph waited even after marriage.

Don’t minimize the temptation he must have felt,
BUT HE OBEYED.

This must be our response as well.
We no longer serve ourselves, we deny ourselves.
Now we serve our King.

It is all about His will.
John 14:15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”

We learn that from Joseph.

#4 JESUS
Luke 2:6-7
Here we have the Christ child.
The baby is born.

Our babies have come home to
• Hand-crafted furniture,
• Multiple sets of sheets,
• Padded changing tables,
• Even a warmer that makes sure the wet-wipes feel comfortable.

This baby was wrapped in cloths and laid down in a feed trough,
Not even able to born in the comfort of a motel.
He was literally “born in a barn”.

Now any ordinary baby would not have known the difference.
For all he knows everyone lives in a barn.

BUT THIS BABY KNEW THE DIFFERENCE.
Philippians 2:6-7 “Who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.”
This baby knew glory.
This baby knew comfort.
This baby knew what it meant to be God.
And yet He laid all that aside in order to take up flesh and blood.

What do we learn from Jesus?
HUMILITY

Jesus was God, and yet He humbled Himself.

The plan of God was bigger than His pride,
He willingly became poor so that we might become rich.

For us Christmas must do the same.
We are all called to deny ourselves.
We are all called to follow Jesus.

This life is not about securing our comforts,
This life is about serving our Father, and humility is required.

James 4:6 “But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.”

Never shown greater than the Baby Jesus.

#4 THE SHEPHERDS
Luke 2:15-20

You really need to understand the life of a shepherd here a little.

• POOR REPUTATION – they were social outcasts
• POOR HYGENE – the dressed in sheep’s clothing and smelled like a sheep
• TREMENDOUS COMMITMENT – they protected the sheep at all cost

Remember David recounting his shepherding days?
1 Samuel 17:34-35 “But David said to Saul, “Your servant was tending his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, I went out after him and attacked him, and rescued it from his mouth; and when he rose up against me, I seized him by his beard and struck him and killed him.”

A hunting male lion – is separated and angry.

If the lion steals one my sheep, I am relieved.
Not a shepherd in Israel, they go after the lion, just as David did.

And at the very least bring part of the sheep home.
Amos 3:12 “Just as the shepherd snatches from the lion’s mouth a couple of legs or a piece of an ear, So will the sons of Israel dwelling in Samaria be snatched away — With the corner of a bed and the cover of a couch!”
My point is this.
No one was more committed to their job than a shepherd.
• They lived with the sheep.
• They ate with the sheep.
• They dressed like the sheep.
• They smelled like the sheep.
• They risked their lives for the sheep.

And that is what makes this night so interesting.

When the angel reveals that the Savior of the world has been born,
LOOK AT THEIR RESPONSE.
(15-16) “When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.” So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger.”

No one in Israel was more task-oriented than a shepherd
But when Christmas came, it was
“To heck with the sheep, I’m going to see the Savior!”

What do we learn from the Shepherds?
PRIORITY

When Jesus arrived, He took priority
Over the most important things in their life.

We learn the importance of that.
The person of Jesus must take priority in our lives as well.

It is not that we don’t have jobs to do, or families to feed,
Or that God forbids us to have any fun in life.
He doesn’t.

God only requires that in the midst of our “important” lives,
We remember who has the priority and when the Savior calls,
That we then give priority to Him.

Luke 9:61-62 “Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.” But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Jesus demands priority in our lives,
The shepherds had it figured out.

#6 THE WISE MEN
Matthew 2:7-12
No one told them, they weren’t even Jewish.
They did not own the Scriptures.
But when they saw the testimony of Creation they set out.

And they came with only one purpose.
(11) “After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”

These are the only ones that are said to have “worshiped Him”
And they traveled a great distance to do so.

They are the only ones to bring gifts, and they brought:
• Gold – for a King
• Frankincense – for a Priest
• Myrrh – for a Sacrifice

They gave what was fitting, they gave what was costly,
And they gave of themselves to get it to Him.

What do we learn from the Wise Men?
WORSHIP

Christmas is also about worship.
Not just the praise of our lips, but the surrender of our lives.

Romans 12:1 “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”
The Wise Men bowed in submission to the king.

And even when warned by Herod (A Roman King) they blew him off.
Their allegiance was to the King of Kings.

Take from these 6 and learn how to respond to Christmas.
• Like the Angels we have a RESPONSIBILITY to tell the world.
• Like Mary we walk in FAITH that God’s plan is right.
• Like Joseph we OBEY what the Lord commands.
• Like Jesus we cloth ourselves in HUMILITY to be usable to the Father.
• Like the Shepherds we make Jesus the PRIORITY of our lives.
• And Like the Wise Men we lift our bodies up in WORSHIP.

Psalms 95:1-7 “O come, let us sing for joy to the LORD, Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. For the LORD is a great God And a great King above all gods, In whose hand are the depths of the earth, The peaks of the mountains are His also. The sea is His, for it was He who made it, And His hands formed the dry land. Come, let us worship and bow down, Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.”

Revelation 12:1-6

• In Mine Hill, N.J., Canfield Avenue School officials altered the words to the popular hymn “Silent Night” for their holiday concert, changing them from “Silent night, holy night” to “Silent night, winter night” (www.alliancedefensefund.org/news/story.aspx?cid=3643)

• In Monona, Wis., the manager of a retirement community that received some government grant money ordered the removal or covering of any religious Christmas decorations, such as those that depicted a nativity scene, angels, or the words “Merry Christmas” (www.alliancedefensefund.org/news/story.aspx?cid=3643)

• A special task force in a Colorado city has recommended banning red and green lights at the Christmas holiday because they fall among the items that are too religious for the city to sponsor. (www.wmamc.com/attackonchristmas/inthenews.html)

• In Memphis, Tenn., library officials told a woman that she could place a nativity scene on the community shelves, as long as it did not include the “inappropriate” figures of the baby Jesus, Joseph, Mary, and the wise men (www.alliancedefensefund.org/news/story.aspx?cid=3643)

Information like that is nothing new to any of you.
We are aware of the relentless attacks on Christmas.
Some we expect, some are so ridiculous we just have to laugh about them.

I understand why some aspects of Christianity are hated.
(opposition to immorality, global evangelism, or even Easter)
BUT WHY CHRISTMAS?

Travel back with me to the first ever recorded promise
That God made to Satan.

Genesis 3:14-15 “The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you will go, And dust you will eat All the days of your life; And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.”

It was obviously someone born of a virgin,
For women don’t have “seed”, and whoever this “seed” would be,
He would cause major problems for Satan.
He would be the One who would crush Satan’s head.
Satan started hating Christmas on that very day.
And he never will stop hating it.

The Battle we fight yearly for Christmas,
Is a battle that is against none other than Satan himself.

Ephesians 6:12 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
Satan is the usurper and he is ever at work to try and
Thwart this “seed” from God who will eventually crush his head.

So this morning let’s look at The Battle for Christmas.

And I want to show you, that while we may very well rise up and fight the battle for Christmas, we have absolutely no chance of losing it.

4 things.
#1 A WOMAN IN TURMOIL
Revelation 12:1-2

Because we are entering this book in the middle,
Allow me to take just a moment to let you know what is going on.

The first 11 chapters of this book flow chronologically, and depict what is commonly referred to as “The end times”

Chapter 11 ends with the blowing of the 7th trumpet
And the declaration that the days of the usurper have come to an end.

Revelation 11:15-16 “Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.” And the twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God,”

This occurs only a few days or weeks away from the return of Jesus.

At that point, the flow of the book is interrupted,
And we enter this new parenthetical section
Consisting of chapters 12-14.

It covers the exact same time period as has already been covered,
Only it covers it from SATAN’S PERSPECTIVE.
We get to see Satan’s plans…
We get to see Satan’s schemes…
We get to see his way of thinking…

And it serves us well as we look at the battle.

To start John carries us back all the way to the beginning.
It is highly symbolic, but once you understand the symbolism,
It is quite easily to understand and apply.

And the first thing John chooses to show us is A Woman in Turmoil.

“A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars;”

Many assume that this woman is the Virgin Mary. (NOT)
This woman is actually not a woman at all.
John said she is a “sign”.
She is a symbol, she is a picture.

And she is representative of the nation of Israel.
Perhaps you will remember Joseph’s dream before his brothers.

Genesis 37:9-11 “Now he had still another dream, and related it to his brothers, and said, “Lo, I have had still another dream; and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” He related it to his father and to his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have had? Shall I and your mother and your brothers actually come to bow ourselves down before you to the ground?” His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.”

Jacob = the sun
Rachel = the moon
12 sons = 12 stars

This woman is Israel.

(2) “and she was with child; and she cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth.”

This woman is “with child”

That means that this woman has a valid expectation
That someday a child will be born to her. She is “expecting”.

Correctly understood then, we know that Israel
Is eagerly looking to the arrival of a very important child.

We are talking about the “seed”, the Messiah.

Israel had many promises in her past
That someday the “seed” would come.

Perhaps the most famous:
Isaiah 9:1-7 “But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them. You shall multiply the nation, You shall increase their gladness; They will be glad in Your presence As with the gladness of harvest, As men rejoice when they divide the spoil. For You shall break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders, The rod of their oppressor, as at the battle of Midian. For every boot of the booted warrior in the battle tumult, And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire. For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.”
And now we see her present state.
“and she cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth.”

The tense here is actually in THE HISTORICAL PRESENT
Which better reads, “and she is crying out, being in labor…”

It was not a one time cry, but a continual cry for relief.
She is in turmoil and is desperately begging for the deliverer to arrive.

And we understand her turmoil.

The writer of Hebrews had this to say:
Hebrews 2:5-8 “For He did not subject to angels the world to come, concerning which we are speaking. But one has testified somewhere, saying, “WHAT IS MAN, THAT YOU REMEMBER HIM? OR THE SON OF MAN, THAT YOU ARE CONCERNED ABOUT HIM? “YOU HAVE MADE HIM FOR A LITTLE WHILE LOWER THAN THE ANGELS; YOU HAVE CROWNED HIM WITH GLORY AND HONOR, AND HAVE APPOINTED HIM OVER THE WORKS OF YOUR HANDS; YOU HAVE PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET.” For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him.”

When God created this world, He did not give angels rule over it,
He gave rule over the world to man. Man was given dominion.

“He left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him.”

Man was supposed to be in control, but it is obvious that he is not.
In fact, in the garden, our control was usurped by an angel,
And he now is the god of this world.

And so Israel is crying out, she is in turmoil, she is in despair.
Things are not the way they are supposed to be.

Adrian Rogers once said:
“The world is in such a mess today because things are out of place. The King (Jesus) belongs on His throne. The bride (the church) belongs with the groom. The criminal (Satan) belongs in prison. One of these days, when the King is on the throne, the bride is with her groom, and the criminal is in prison, we will understand the way things are meant to be.” (Adrian Rogers, Unveiling the End Times in Our Time [Nashville, TN.: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2004] pg. 7)

That is precisely why this woman is crying out.

And her cry is heard many times in Scripture.
Psalms 89:46 “How long, O LORD? Will You hide Yourself forever? Will Your wrath burn like fire?”

Psalms 80:4-6 “O LORD God of hosts, How long will You be angry with the prayer of Your people? You have fed them with the bread of tears, And You have made them to drink tears in large measure. You make us an object of contention to our neighbors, And our enemies laugh among themselves.”
Psalms 90:13-17 “Do return, O LORD; how long will it be? And be sorry for Your servants. O satisfy us in the morning with Your lovingkindness,That we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. Make us glad according to the days You have afflicted us, And the years we have seen evil. Let Your work appear to Your servants And Your majesty to their children. Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us; And confirm for us the work of our hands; Yes, confirm the work of our hands.”

Psalms 94:1-7 “O LORD, God of vengeance, God of vengeance, shine forth! Rise up, O Judge of the earth, Render recompense to the proud. How long shall the wicked, O LORD, How long shall the wicked exult? They pour forth words, they speak arrogantly; All who do wickedness vaunt themselves. They crush Your people, O LORD, And afflict Your heritage. They slay the widow and the stranger And murder the orphans. They have said, “The LORD does not see, Nor does the God of Jacob pay heed.”

The cry for Israel was continual for God to send the one they expected.
They were waiting for “the seed”.

First we see, A Woman in Turmoil
#2 A DRAGON ON A TIRADE
Revelation 12:3-4

Now, it was not a literal woman, this is not a literal dragon.
Rather he is painted as a red dragon to reveal his cruelty and brutality.

This dragon is none other than the serpent in the garden,
He is Satan himself, who is of course a fallen angel of God.

And we are given some descriptors about him.
“having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems.”

If you read further into the book of the Revelation we learn:
Revelation 17:9-13 “Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits, and they are seven kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while. “The beast which was and is not, is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction. “The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour. “These have one purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast.”

These horns are symbolic of the kingdoms Satan has controlled. Five are over, one is presently in charge, and one is coming.

The seven kingdoms referred to are the seven kingdoms
That have specifically targeted the destruction of Israel.

EGYPT under the reign of Satan’s puppet – Pharaoh
Exodus 1:22 “Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, ” Every son who is born you are to cast into the Nile, and every daughter you are to keep alive.”

ASSYRIA under the reign of Satan’s puppet – Shalmaneser
2 Kings 17:5-6 “Then the king of Assyria invaded the whole land and went up to Samaria and besieged it three years. In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and carried Israel away into exile to Assyria, and settled them in Halah and Habor, on the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.”

BABYLON under the reign of Satan’s puppet – Nebuchadnezzar
2 Kings 25:8-11 “Now on the seventh day of the fifth month, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. He burned the house of the LORD, the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; even every great house he burned with fire. So all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard broke down the walls around Jerusalem. Then the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon and the rest of the people, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away into exile.”

MEDO-PERSIA under the influence of Satan’s puppet – Haman
Esther 3:8-9 “Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom; their laws are different from those of all other people and they do not observe the king’s laws, so it is not in the king’s interest to let them remain. “If it is pleasing to the king, let it be decreed that they be destroyed, and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver into the hands of those who carry on the king’s business, to put into the king’s treasuries.”

GREECE under the control of Satan’s puppet – Antiochus Epiphenes
Daniel 8:9-12 “Out of one of them came forth a rather small horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Beautiful Land. It grew up to the host of heaven and caused some of the host and some of the stars to fall to the earth, and it trampled them down. It even magnified itself to be equal with the Commander of the host; and it removed the regular sacrifice from Him, and the place of His sanctuary was thrown down. And on account of transgression the host will be given over to the horn along with the regular sacrifice; and it will fling truth to the ground and perform its will and prosper.”

All five of those did their best to completely annihilate the Jews.
But they were not merely human empires.

They were empires controlled by Satan himself
And his demonic army.
(4) “and his tail swept away a third of the starts of heaven and threw them to the earth.”

The Bible teaches that Satan was an anointed cherub
Who was cast out of heaven.

Isaiah 14:12-15 “How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations! “But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north. ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ “Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol, To the recesses of the pit.”

And when Satan fell, he took a third of the angels with him,
With them, he has manipulated 5 kingdoms to try and annihilate the Jews.
THE MAIN GOAL WAS TO ANNIHILATE THE JEWS
SO THAT THE “SEED” WOULD NEVER BE BORN.

The Battle for Christmas didn’t start a few years ago.
The Battle for Christmas has been being fought for generations.

Long before Satan ever tried to silence it,
He was working extremely hard to try and prevent it.

However, Satan was not able to accomplish his goal.
Moses delivered Israel from Egypt
Cyrus set God’s people free from exile.
Esther delivered God’s people from Persia
Judas Maccabeus delivered God’s people from Greece

Despite his hatred for Christmas,
Satan was not able to prevent the birth of the “seed”

That moves to the 6th kingdom,
Who did not try to prevent the birth,
But who desperately tried to kill Him once He arrived.

ROME under the Satanic controlled Herod
Matthew 2:16 “Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi.”

And of course that was Satan’s scheme.
(4) “And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child.”

Satan couldn’t stop the “seed” from coming
So his plan was to kill Him instantly.

But of course that plan failed.

#3 A CHILD IN TRIUMPH
Revelation 12:5

Despite all the attempts of Satan
“And she gave birth to a son, a male child”

After years of suffering under the curse, the “seed” finally arrived.

The destroyer of Satan had come.
It is in fact the miraculous incarnation of God.

John 1:14 “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Colossians 2:9 “For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form,”

And then John shows us in one short statement
Why Satan (and the world) oppose Him so much.

“who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron;”

Satan doesn’t hate Him simply for being a Savior.
Satan hates Him for taking back what is rightfully His.

THE WORLD DOESN’T HATE THE BABY IN THE MANGER.
THE WORLD HATES THE KING ON THE THRONE.

THIS CHILD CAME TO RULE THE WORLD.
Many times at Christmas we focus solely on the Savior aspect.
And we are correct to focus on that.

He did not just come to be Savior, HE CAME TO BE LORD.

Listen to the Old Testament prophecies about Him.
Isaiah 9:6-7 “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.”

Micah 5:2-5 “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.” Therefore He will give them up until the time When she who is in labor has borne a child. Then the remainder of His brethren Will return to the sons of Israel. And He will arise and shepherd His flock In the strength of the LORD, In the majesty of the name of the LORD His God. And they will remain, Because at that time He will be great To the ends of the earth. This One will be our peace. When the Assyrian invades our land, When he tramples on our citadels, Then we will raise against him Seven shepherds and eight leaders of men.”

No wonder Satan and the world today wants Him dead.

And yet even after successfully killing the “seed”, we read.
Acts 2:22-24 “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know — this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. “But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.”

Satan succeeded in killing Him, he just couldn’t keep Him dead.
The “seed” arose from the dead.

And the verse 5 says:
“and her child was caught up to God and to His throne.”

After God delivered Him, God accepted Him.
Not just to His presence, but also to “His throne.”

It was determined that this seed would crush Satan and rule the world, and that is precisely what He will do.

Acts 2:32-36 “This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. “Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear. “For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: ‘THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, “SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET.”‘ “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ — this Jesus whom you crucified.”

Psalms 2:1-9 “Why are the nations in an uproar And the peoples devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, “Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!” He who sits in the heavens laughs, The Lord scoffs at them. Then He will speak to them in His anger And terrify them in His fury, saying, “But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain.” “I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Your possession. ‘You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.'”

You see the battle is over.
The Battle for Christmas cannot be lost, it has already been won.

THEN WHY DO WE STILL SEEM TO FIGHT?
Because Satan is too dumb to know when he is defeated.

A woman in turmoil, a dragon on a tirade, a child in triumph
#4 A WORLD IN TRIBULATION
Revelation 12:6

Christ ascended, but the woman stayed.
And while gone, the woman is supernaturally cared for by God.
(And it is needed, for tribulation is promised)

Even though Satan has lost, he will not give up the fight.

Revelation 12:12 “For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.”
Later he does everything he can to kill the woman anyway,
But God delivers here from destruction.

Revelation 12:13-17 “And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child. But the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place, where she was nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. And the serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood. But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river which the dragon poured out of his mouth. So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.”

Satan doesn’t fight because he has a chance of winning.
Satan fights because he is a sore loser and is angry about defeat.

MY POINT TODAY IS THIS.

THE BATTLE FOR CHRISTMAS IS OVER
The struggles we face today are just against
A pathetic old dragon who is too dumb to know he is defeated.

The “seed” crushed his head, it is over.

Hebrews 2:14-15 “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.”

Hebrews 9:27-28 “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.”

Sure it is fine to stand up for Christmas,
But don’t assume that we might someday lose the battle.
(The term “Happy Holidays” will not be used in heaven.
THE BATTLE HAS BEEN WON.
• Satan couldn’t prevent His birth.
• Satan couldn’t destroy His life.
• Satan can’t defeat His followers.

HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Revelation 1:7-8 “BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen. “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Read Revelation 19:1-6

So here we are: Christmas Morning.
The day that is so highly anticipated by children all over the world.

But there is always a bittersweet ending to Christmas
Because kids realize, they just went from being one day away
To being 365 days away.

Christmas is anticipated.
And so we have been focusing on the anticipation
That we each must have for the second coming of Christmas.

It is a sign of a Christian t0 eagerly await the coming Savior.

1 John 3:1-3 “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”

The second coming of Christmas is the natural hope of the redeemed.
There is a real problem in our hearts,
If we don’t have an eager longing for His return.

WHAT WOULD YOU ASK YOUR KIDS IF THEY HADN’T BEEN EXCITED THIS MORNING?

We ought to be anticipating Christ’s return.

AND SO HERE WE ARE CHRISTMAS MORNING.
The anticipation that we have been experiencing,
The satisfaction that many just experienced
Is but a small glimpse of what the real one will be like.

Our little Christmas’s are but a sample,
Compared to the buffet that is to follow.

This morning I want us to take a look at what that day will be like.

There is one passage in the Bible that shows us
The response of heaven to the 2nd coming of Christmas.

We have already read it a couple of times.
The song this passage inspired is known as the “Hallelujah Chorus”
And so this morning, let’s take a look at Christmas Future
And see how great that day will be!

We find heaven worshiping on that day because of 3 things.
#1 SALVATION
Revelation 19:1-2

Now before we get into this text much at all,
You have to notice the first three words.

“After these things”

What we are witnessing is a response.
They watched something unfold, and then responded to it.

WHAT DID THEY SEE?
Chapters 17-18

These chapters are parenthetical chapters.
Meaning they take a break from the unfolding chain of events
To give you further insight into what is specifically happening.

At this point in the book of the Revelation,
All of God’s wrath has been poured out.

We have seen 7 seals opened
False peace
World War
World Famine
Death of a ¼ of the earth
Cries of the martyrs (motivation)
Great earthquake (mountains & stars disappear, sun blackened)
7th seal brings seven trumpets

We have seen 7 trumpets blown
Hail and fire thrown to the earth 1/3 of the earth burned up
Great burning mountain tossed in the sea – 1/3 of the sea to blood
Great burning star (wormwood) turned 1/3 of the fresh water bitter
1/3 of the sun, moon, and stars were struck
Bottomless pit opened, taste of hell
4 evil angels released 2 hundred million demonic army
7th trumpet brings seven bowls

We have seen 7 bowls poured out.
Loathsome malignant sore on the followers of the beast
The rest of the sea becomes blood
The rest of the fresh water becomes blood
The sun begins scorching men with fire
Great pain on the kingdom of the beast (gnawed their tongues)
Euphrates dried up so that men could come be destroyed
Final judgment – 100 pound hail stones.
That is what has occurred.
Chapters 17-18 then tell that same story from earth’s perspective.
It shows how people responded.

Chapter 17 reveals the destruction of the beast’s false religious system.
Chapter 18 reveals the destruction of the beast’s commercial system.

And the earth is mourning over the loss of the two.
Revelation 18:9-10 “And the kings of the earth, who committed acts of immorality and lived sensuously with her, will weep and lament over her when they see the smoke of her burning, standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment, saying, ‘ Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in one hour your judgment has come.”

And the chapters end with a very dramatic picture.
Revelation 18:20-24 “Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, because God has pronounced judgment for you against her.” Then a strong angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “So will Babylon, the great city, be thrown down with violence, and will not be found any longer. “And the sound of harpists and musicians and flute-players and trumpeters will not be heard in you any longer; and no craftsman of any craft will be found in you any longer; and the sound of a mill will not be heard in you any longer; and the light of a lamp will not shine in you any longer; and the voice of the bridegroom and bride will not be heard in you any longer; for your merchants were the great men of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery. “And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all who have been slain on the earth.”

So we have basically seen God judge sin,
And overthrow the rule of the usurper.

When heaven sees this angel sink the stone in the sea,
They can’t help but respond, and that is where our text comes in.

“After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven…”
And the first thing they rejoice for is salvation!

At this point, salvation has finally come.
Salvation has finally been made complete.

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned the 3 stages of salvation, and have had several people ask me about it, so we’ll look at it real quickly to see why they are worshiping.

Salvation comes in three stages.
Even in the Bible, you will find three different types of phrases in regard to salvation.

Some verses say we have been saved.
Some verses say we are being saved.
And some verses say we will be saved.

That’s because salvation is a process.
STEP #1 JUSTIFICATION

Romans 5:1 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,”

Romans 3:23-24 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;”

This is what happened to us in the past.
And in a sense is when we were saved.

Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;”

2 Timothy 1:9 “who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity,”

Titus 3:5 “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,”

STEP #2 SANCTIFICATION

Philippians 2:12-13 “So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”

Romans 6:22 “But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.”

This is what is happening to us right now.
And in a sense is how we are being saved.

1 Corinthians 1:18 “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

2 Corinthians 2:15 “For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing;”

STEP #3 GLORIFICATION

Romans 13:11 “Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed.”

1 Peter 1:3-5 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

This is what we are waiting for. This is when salvation will be complete.
Romans 5:9-10 “Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”

Paul summed it all up in Romans.

Romans 8:28-30 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.”

Now that was just a simple lesson.

We sing hallelujah when we are justified,
Because we know our sins are forgiven.

We sing hallelujah as we are sanctified,
Because we start becoming more like Jesus.

But the ultimate Hallelujah will come when we are glorified,
When sin is gone, and is no more.

Then will our salvation be complete, and we can fully sing Hallelujah!

That is what heaven is doing here.
They sing hallelujah because salvation is finished!
#2 SMOKE
Revelation 19:3-4

DO YOU SEE WHY THEY ARE SINGING HALLELUJAH HERE?
Because they see here smoke rising.
They see her fire burning.

They are looking at the judgment of sinners and singing hallelujah.

This is no different than what they asked for.
Revelation 6:9-11 “When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, ” How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed also.”

This is even how God said heaven would respond.

1 Chronicles 16:31-33 “Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; And let them say among the nations, “The LORD reigns.” Let the sea roar, and all it contains; Let the field exult, and all that is in it. Then the trees of the forest will sing for joy before the LORD; For He is coming to judge the earth.”

Now we look at that and wonder,
HOW CAN THEY REJOICE OVER OTHERS BEING JUDGED?

Notice who is rejoicing.
It is all those in heaven (vs. 1)

We are troubled by this because to some degree,
We all still like sin a little bit.
To some degree, we all still understand the motivation of sinners.

But those who are in heaven don’t. Their flesh has been removed.
Their lusts are gone. They know look on sin as God does.

And when God pours out judgment, He knows it is fully justified.
He was even pleased to crush Jesus when He took our sin.

You see heaven rejoices because sin is being judged.
Heaven rejoices because no longer is deception reigning.

Now holiness is reigning.
What a relief it will be when we live in a world
That no longer makes faulty judgments.

Heaven sings Hallelujah when they seek the smoke of judgment
Rightly falling on those who have rejected Jesus.

#3 SOVEREIGNTY
Revelation 19:5-6

You see here why they are singing praise.
“For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.”

The Bible has long promised this day.

Right now we live in a day when Christ is Lord
In the hearts of those who accept Him,
But His Lordship has not been global.

There is coming a day when it will be.

Philippians 2:10-11 “so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

1 Corinthians 15:20-28 “But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming, then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death. For HE HAS PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET. But when He says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is evident that He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him. When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all.”

Psalms 2 “Why are the nations in an uproar And the peoples devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, “Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!” He who sits in the heavens laughs, The Lord scoffs at them. Then He will speak to them in His anger And terrify them in His fury, saying, “But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain.” “I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Your possession. ‘You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.'” Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; Take warning, O judges of the earth. Worship the LORD with reverence And rejoice with trembling. Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, For His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!”

Heaven is worshiping because God reigns!

This is why we anticipate the 2nd Coming of Christmas.

The First Coming began salvation
The 2nd Coming will complete it.
The 1st Coming promised justice
The 2nd Coming will enforce it.
The 1st Coming introduced a kingdom
The 2nd Coming will see it established.

Isaiah 9:6-7 “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.”

Heaven’s Hallelujah’s can be found by you at Christmas
If you will partake in this wonderful salvation of our God.

If you will fall in love with His holiness
And seek His righteousness.

And if you will fully submit to His sovereignty.
Christmas is about the anticipation of the day
When Christmas is what God fully intends it to be.

The day when His King comes to earth to sit upon David’s throne
And rule with justice and righteousness.

Let us worship and sing Hallelujah,
For when Christmas comes, our God will reign!
Pray