Christmas Without A Baby

[0:00] Thank you for choosing to listen to today's message by Reverend Dr. David Edge. We know you will be blessed as you seek and serve God. We believe that this message will stir up a desire for more of God even as you listen.

[0:13] Be blessed. Today I really want to talk about the Christmas without a baby. The baby-less Christmas.

[0:27] The merry-less Christmas. The Joseph-less Christmas. The singing angels-less Christmas. The shepherd-less Christmas and the manger-less Christmas.

[0:41] And no three wise men Christmas. In effect, the nativity. You can have Christmas without necessarily that.

[1:00] Excuse me, what do you mean? I'm not saying the nativity is not necessary. Because in Matthew, it's there. It's right there in Matthew. Actually, the New Testament opens up with the genealogy of Jesus entering into the birth of Jesus.

[1:17] So, the New Testament opens by saying that the book of the genealogy of, you see, is almost like a book of the genealogy. The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

[1:37] He traced them. David, Abraham, they are the two most important people in the line of Jesus. So, Jesus Christ, of a necessity, had to be the son of David.

[1:50] He had to be the son of David, the seed of Abraham. Of a necessity. If not, he's not Jesus. That is why we need the nativity.

[2:06] That is what the Christmas story is about. The surface of the Christmas story is the human lineage and how he arrived into humanity.

[2:19] So, you can't talk about, as it were, Christmas without Mary. Christmas. But where is Joseph? Christmas. Well, where is the manger? Come on, someone get me some manger so I know I'm doing Christmas here.

[2:36] Where are the shepherds? Who watch their flocks by night. And definitely it couldn't be winter. Because they wouldn't have been on the open fields in winter.

[2:51] Watching their flocks by night while they're seated on the ground. No, no, no, no, no, no. It doesn't happen in winter. In the bleak being. Forget it. Hallelujah.

[3:08] So, it opens by talking about the genealogy of Jesus Christ. The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ. The son of David. The son of Abraham.

[3:18] The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ. The son of David. The son of Abraham. Abraham begat Isaac. Isaac begat Jacob. Jacob begat Judas and his brethren.

[3:31] Now, this is not that Judas will betray Jesus for your information. Okay. This is not his carrots. Judas. And Judas begat Perez. And Perez. So, Judas is the same as Judah. Judah.

[3:42] Okay. Judah. Judah begat Perez. If I have some translation, we'll put Judah. I think some of the modern translations. Perez. Huh. Judah begat Perez.

[3:52] All right. All right. What is the new King James? Yeah. Judah begat Perez. And, all right. And Judah begat Perez and Zara. So, Zara of Tama. The first woman mentioned.

[4:08] I want to just bring your attention to the difference between the genealogy. How many of you knew Adam also had genealogy? Genesis chapter 5. Is there? It talks about the genealogy of Adam.

[4:21] From verse 1 to verse 32. And it's the book of the generations of Adam. So, they had to tell us the genealogy of Adam. And when the last Adam came, we needed to hear his genealogy.

[4:33] Where is he coming from? He told us the genealogy. The generations of Adam. Right from verse 1 to verse 32. There was not one woman mentioned. But with Jesus, five women were mentioned.

[4:48] Even though, even though in the Hebrew or Jewish tradition, they don't mention the women. And these women were all women with certain connection with issues of sex.

[5:05] Do you know who Tama is? Tama wasn't having a child.

[5:20] And her husband died. And then she married the younger one. And then he was afraid to die. So, when it was time, he wouldn't... And Ornan knew that the seed should not be his.

[5:36] And so, it came to pass. When he went into his brother's wife. Did you see that? Do you know what it means to go into a woman? When he went into his brother's wife, he pulled out and spilled...

[5:49] All right. So, now, watch this. And his brother's wife, who was called Tama, wanted a child. And this guy would not give him nothing.

[6:00] He died or something like that. So, the father said, okay, you have to wait until I have another child. According to the tradition. But she said, I need a child.

[6:11] I'm growing old. And no one will marry me or no one will be with me to have a child. So, she disguised herself as a prostitute. And he knew that he would get...

[6:22] When a woman is looking for you, they can get you. You have to be careful. Listen to your wife telling you. When a woman sets her eyes on you. You can be a pastor. If she sets her eyes on you, you are not safe.

[6:36] You are not safe. So, now, this young lady. Young lady. Young lady. She disguised herself into a prostitute.

[6:51] And then when the man was passing by, I think he was going for services. So, he came across her and went into her. And just, you know, they know how to wait. So, just when you are...

[7:03] Stay there, stay there. You can't wait. Say, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Sign the check first. The man, at the certain stage, nothing matters. One check. Whatever. That house in Brixton.

[7:17] You can't take it. So, the woman said, no, no, no. Give me your stuff. And I need to take things from you that belong to you. That is only unique to you.

[7:28] She collected. The man said, no, have it. Have it. Let's get on with business. And she did it at the time when she was most fertile.

[7:41] Nine months later, she gave birth. And they brought her that she has played the halotry. You have gotten pregnant. You are already connected to a family. And you have to wait for a child to be born to become married.

[7:53] You have gone to commit halotry. And it is sent her on to death. She said, you have to let us know. She said, please. So, they called a family meeting. The father was sitting there. He didn't know it was her. He thought he just went for service.

[8:05] He didn't know the service was in his own house. So, the woman said, I only can show you who it is. I didn't see his face properly. But if I show you the thing that...

[8:16] Then they brought the thing. She brought out the elements. The man knew that. Oh, my God. Yeah. She brought forth.

[8:28] So, she sent to her father-in-law saying, by this man, whose these things are, I am with a child. And she said, the Zen, I pray thee, whose are these?

[8:43] The signet and the bracelet and the staff. So, you see, Tamar. Tamar.

[8:54] Tamar slept with her father-in-law. And they produced Zara and Perez. And the Bible announced the first woman whose name was added.

[9:05] And God told that the child that will be born through incest, I'm going to come through that child. So, Jesus' genealogy doesn't look at all. That's the first woman.

[9:17] Then they mentioned the second woman. The second woman is Ruth. What's Ruth? Judas because... Sorry, Rahab. I'm sorry. Judas because Salmon...

[9:30] And Salmon begat Boaz by... So, it's Rahab. Rahab. Ah! The Bible has even said... Go back. Verse 4. Verse 4. And Aram begat Aminada.

[9:43] Abinada begat Nassan. And Nassan begat Salmon. Go ahead. Salmon begat... Salmon begat Boaz of Rahab. And Boaz begat Obed.

[9:54] And Obed begat Jesse. Rahab the prostitute. The Bible said... Maybe you should look. It calls Rahab the prostitute.

[10:06] Yeah. Rahab. She was... She was a core girl. Well-established prostitute.

[10:20] And they knew her. She... Listen. She was running a brothel. She was running a home. She was a mother. That's why... The men... When they came to town... It's prostitute... Any man can talk and go.

[10:31] So the foreigners came... And they found... They couldn't find anywhere... To go and hide... By the house of a prostitute. And you are busy... Judging... They are going there.

[10:41] They are not going for service. They are going for protection. So... Now...

[10:54] Prostitutes. Rahab. And what is funny is that... Rahab is not in the line of Abraham. Why would God combine... Somebody who was not a Jew...

[11:07] A complete Gentile prostitute... Into the genealogy of Jesus... So that Jesus will be a descendant... Of such a person. The next person...

[11:18] Who was mentioned was... Ruth. Now... Ruth chapter 1 verse 4. Ruth the Moabitess. Now... Who is a Moabite?

[11:30] There was a time... A man got drunk... After his success. Be careful when you succeed. The decision she begins to make. After he came out of the flood...

[11:40] Noah... He was successful. Yes. So he planted a vineyard. And the vineyard flourished. And he produced wine.

[11:51] And he said... I've labored enough. Let me enjoy my own wine. So Genesis chapter 9. He drank... And he was... Drunk.

[12:04] And he was... Uncovered in his tent. Actually... It is... It's rather... Noah I want to talk about. It's not...

[12:15] Did I say Noah? And Lot. Lot I want to talk about. Genesis chapter 19. Noah got drunk. Okay. But Lot... When they came out of Sodom and Gomorrah... It's because of the alcohol.

[12:26] That's why. He got drunk. Lot. When they came out of the... Sodom and Gomorrah... There are no people. And the wife of Lot was not there.

[12:37] And his daughters said... Listen. We are old now. There's no man to produce children with us. And so... Let's get our father drunk. Let's get him drunk. And when he gets drunk...

[12:48] We will go and lay with him. So that we can produce children... By our father. That's what they did. And they produced children by their fathers. And by their father.

[12:58] And the children that were produced by their father... Became the Moabites. And they are cursed. And according to Deuteronomy chapter 23... I think verse 3 or so. Deuteronomy 23 verse 3.

[13:09] It talks about how... A Moabite should not enter. Yeah. 23 verse 3. It's an Ammonite. The Ammonites and the Moabites. Shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord.

[13:21] How come Ruth came in? Even to the 10th generation... They... Shall they not enter... In the congregation of the Lord forever.

[13:33] How come Ruth? Because Ruth... According to Ruth chapter 1 verse 4... Ruth is a Moabite. And Moabites came as a result of incest... Between Lot and his children.

[13:46] His daughters. Daughters got him drunk and produced children. And it's a cursed generation. If God... You are going to... If God is a master planner...

[13:57] And he chose who is going to be part of the genealogy... How many of you know that? He chose. So obviously... It took me by accident... That he chose these people. From such background. And he wasn't ashamed.

[14:09] And guess what? He didn't mention other women. There were other women. Sarah. Sarah should have been mentioned. Rebecca. I mean... People even classed for Sarah. Sarah. Yeah. She called her husband...

[14:19] My Lord. My Lord. Sarah herself by faith. But she wasn't included. She wasn't mentioned. Even though she was in the line. She wasn't mentioned.

[14:31] She was not mentioned. But they mentioned... Tama. Mentioned... Rahab. Mentioned Ruth.

[14:42] And they mentioned... Another woman called Bathsheba. Somebody's wife. After the man killed your husband... You should have stayed far from him...

[14:52] And said you are a wicked man. You are the king. But you better kill me. Bible says that... And... Go, go, go. Verse 6. Look at verse 6. And Jesse began David the king.

[15:02] And David began Solomon by her... Who had been somebody else's wife. Oh, think about it. She had been somebody else's wife. And they produced a child.

[15:14] And God chose that line. What's the point here? He's trying to say that... He's also part of the family...

[15:24] Of the people who have sinned. Gentiles. Gentiles are in his bloodline. Sinners are in his bloodline. So he said no problem.

[15:36] Just I will include sinners... So that it is obvious that... My descendants are sinners. I can't turn my back on them. These women...

[15:47] All of them have something to do... With sexual misconduct. Or... Sexual something. And then the last one... The last woman mentioned...

[15:58] She was about to be married... Engaged to this man. Then she comes and says... I'm pregnant. Hey. What's the meaning of that? She said I'm pregnant. Who is the... She said the Holy Spirit. Ah. Ah. This.

[16:09] This one. No. No, no, no, no. You can't say that. Which man of us... Which one of us... There will take that? No, no, no. You are pregnant by who?

[16:22] No, no. No, no. No, no. No, stop that. Only one. I'll call family meeting. No, no. Family meeting. Let's dissolve. Those times engagement... It's like marriage. Yeah. The only thing is...

[16:33] If it's not marriage... You can't come together. Yeah. Right? So if you engage someone, you have to go to divorce proceedings. Just like you're married those times. So he started... Matthew chapter 1, Bible verse 18.

[16:45] He started... Before they could marry and know her, she was found to be with child. Hey. Before the man can even come close, she was already pregnant. But the problem here is interesting. People say, but how can she be pregnant without a man?

[16:57] And then how can... Ah. Even now, there's medical science. Can people... Women get pregnant without the involvement, direct involvement of a man? Is this what God can do? Medical science can do it, but God can do it.

[17:13] Oh. So she was found... It's interesting. Matthew chapter 1, verse 18. She was found. Now, the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows.

[17:25] After his mother, Mary was betrothed. After God waited, after he was committed to the man. It should have come in before the commitment, but it was after. He was betrothed to Joseph.

[17:35] Before they came together. It's very clear. Before they could say, Jack. Mary said, I'm pregnant. Hey. But you're supposed to be virgin. Say, yes, I'm still virgin.

[17:46] But I'm pregnant. Before they came together, she was found to be with child of the Holy Ghost. This is not her testimony. This is the biblical account.

[17:58] But the Holy Spirit himself was behind her pregnancy. I told you all the women had some issues with sex. This one is a very kind of sexual confusion.

[18:11] But yet, all the women, this was the purest and the cleanest. Because she was a virgin. Not anything negative. Not anything negative. But the Holy Ghost said, I want to use this.

[18:23] So the pregnancy that the Holy Ghost brought made it look, in human terms, what kind of... Can you imagine what Joseph would tell his mom? That my wife is pregnant.

[18:36] But it's not my son. And so when Jesus was born, according to Luke chapter 4, sorry, chapter 4, verse 23, 24, he was always supposed to be Joseph's son.

[18:50] As he was supposed to. And they said, Luke chapter 4, verse 22. And all bear witness and one... Yeah.

[19:01] And they said, is this not Joseph's son? You see that? They know. And look at verse 24. Did you go to verse 24? All right.

[19:13] And it's rather Luke chapter 3, verse 24. Let's plan in. Look, I want to show you. Which was the son of... Okay, so verse 23. Let's start from verse 23. Forgive me. I should have gone back in my life. And Jesus is how began his ministry at the age of 30, being as it was supposed.

[19:28] The son of Joseph. But listen. There was nowhere in the Bible where God or the angel said, your son. Matthew chapter 2. When Herod wanted to kill the baby Jesus, the angel appeared to Joseph.

[19:45] And he said in Luke chapter 2, take the Herod or Bethlehem and all the... Verse 18. Verse 18. The angel...

[19:56] The angel appeared... I think verse 19. The angel appeared to Joseph and said, take the baby and her mother and his mother.

[20:08] Can you see? So saying, arise and take the young child and his mother. Take them and go into the land of Israel. Before they went, I think verse 15 or verse 11, the angel came and said the same thing.

[20:23] Take the young child and his mother. Take the young child and his mother. Matthew chapter 1 verse 16. Look at this. When Mary came into the genealogy. Now watch this. And Jacob begat Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

[20:40] Now watch this. This is talking about the genealogies. Genealogies. Genealogy of Jesus. So this guy gave birth to this. This guy gave birth to this. This guy gave birth to this. And then they said, Jacob...

[20:51] Verse 15, please. Verse 15. And Eliud begat Eliezer. Eliezer begat Martha. And Martha begat Jacob.

[21:03] Let's go. Jacob begat Joseph, the husband of Mary. Whoo! So the child Jesus had not got anything to give Joseph. Can you see that?

[21:15] It's just Mary's husband. So the genealogy was traced to Mary's husband, but not Mary necessarily.

[21:26] However, in Luke chapter 1, verse 26, and in verse 31, the angel was sent to Nazareth.

[21:40] Verse 27. To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David. The virgin was of the house of David.

[21:52] Look at verse 31, just to make it clear. And behold, thou shalt conceive in your womb, and bring forth a son, and call his name Jesus. Let's go. He shall be great, and shall be called the son of the highest.

[22:05] And the Lord shall be with him, and give him the throne of his father David. The son you are about to born, he will give him the throne of his father David, because you are a descendant of David.

[22:16] So both Mary and Joseph were all in the line of David. Does that make sense? Now, Joseph had to be in the line of David, because the right to the throne comes from the father.

[22:32] So even if your mother is from the line of David, and your father is not, you are not entitled to the throne. So Jesus' natural representative father must come from the line of David.

[22:43] So he got his right, the royal right from Joseph. But he needed a royal blood.

[22:54] So the blood came from Mary. So he had royal blood from Mary and royal right from Joseph. So wherever you look at it, he is of the house of...

[23:06] That's why Matthew starts by saying, Jesus Christ, the son of David. Because the Christ must be the son of David. Of a necessity. The Christ must be the son of David.

[23:20] God promised David. When David said, I'm going to build a church. As soon as the first one who's... The first person in the Bible who determined and decided to build the church.

[23:32] God said, you want to build a church? No man can build a church. So you know what? I'm going to share a son with you. That's where this whole thing is going in.

[23:42] First Samuel chapter... Second Samuel, sorry. Chapter 7 from verse 12. He said, I'm going to share a son with you. And then he said, after you are dead, I'll raise up a seed from your loins.

[23:53] After you are dead, he said that. And after you have fulfilled your days and you have slept with your father, I'll set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of your bowels.

[24:04] And now I establish his kingdom. Did you see that? So whose son is... That's supposed to be David's son. That is why in Matthew chapter 1, it says, Jesus Christ, the son of David.

[24:16] So God promised David, I'm going to set up a son from your loins. Look at verse 14 of Fakins and Samuel chapter 7. Verse 14 says that. And I will be his father. Excuse me, whose son is he?

[24:27] Is it David's son or your son? He said, yeah, I'm going to share a son with you. He's going to have your blood and he's going to have my DNA. So he shall be called the son of God.

[24:39] So look chapter 1, back again. Look chapter 1, verse 35. Look at this. The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the highest shall overshadow thee.

[24:52] Am I right? Therefore, that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called what? Shall be called what? Listen, this is what the angel told Mary. The thing that is about to be born of you shall be called the son of God.

[25:06] It's not just your child. God is going to have a child with you. Before they could come together, she was found to be with child by God.

[25:16] So God said one day, one day, in Genesis chapter 3, verse 15, God said the seed of the woman, and the seed of the woman, as we heard some time ago, women don't have seed, they have egg.

[25:37] But God said, I'm going to do a pact with the woman. You, the devil, you have tried to destroy humanity's relationship with me. I'm going to restore it.

[25:47] But I'm going to use the same woman you used. Going to use woman. That's why in the lineage of Jesus, women have to be mentioned. He said, because you can't talk about Christmas without Mary.

[26:00] But today, that's what I'm trying to do. So he said, the seed of the woman shall bruise. So women will have seed.

[26:11] But God said, I'm going to give her a seed. So that the child that will be born, the child will not need the involvement of a man. But that child, because there will not be man, I will be the man behind it.

[26:26] So that he will be my son. And yet, he's the son of David. That's what he told David. So when David said, I want to be the church, he said, no, no, no, no, no, you can't build it. But because you have allowed this church business to enter your heart.

[26:40] Anyone who touches church has touched me. Because no one has desired to build me a house and you have desired to do it, I'm going to give you the right. No human being can build it.

[26:52] But whoever is going to build, I'm going to share a son with. Whoever is going to build is going to be a human descendant, but at the same time, so a son of man and son of God.

[27:05] And because you have entered your heart, I'm going to make an agreement with you and I'm going to pass him through you. So you are going to be the father of my son.

[27:17] Whilst I'm also his father. When the angel came to Joseph, he didn't say your son. But when you read the Bible very carefully, they never said Mary bore Joseph a son.

[27:32] So when the angel, look at Luke chapter 1. I'm quoting a few scriptures. Look at this. Luke chapter 1 verse 15. This is between the angel and Zechariah. The father on Job the Baptist.

[27:43] He said, For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord and shall drink no wine. Let's go to verse 13 instead please. Verse 13. But the angel said, Fear not, Zechariah.

[27:54] For the appraiser, thy wife shall bear thee a son. Mary never bore Joseph a son. For this one, the father is actually.

[28:07] And before, the New Testament starts with two fertility problems. Miracle birth.

[28:18] One was too old to give birth. The other one was too young and inexperienced to give birth. Oh, you had two extremes.

[28:29] Zechariah and the wife. They were not able to produce. But the miracle. He said, Your wife is going to have a child. And he shall call. And he said, Oh no, how can he be? I'm a owner. He said, You are doubting my words.

[28:39] You are a pastor. You are not qualified to speak again. Because if you can't believe God's word, you won't speak to the day you start believing. So the church is mad. Because what is a pastor who can't speak God's word? And so, He said, You are doubting my word.

[28:54] You won't talk again. Pastor, you won't talk again. You are not. You don't qualify to speak. You have doubted God's word. You don't qualify to speak. Until your child is born. And now you see the miracle. Then I'll open you.

[29:05] Now you can believe God and go and preach. Go and share your testimony. Hey! Wow! So, now, God told David, I will share his son with you.

[29:19] So, watch this. It is of necessity that Jesus must be the son of David. So, Matthew chapter 22, verse 41, just before, he always had this discourse with the Jews.

[29:30] They used to call, the Bible called them, especially particularly John, called them Jews. It represented the Sahindri, and the Sahindri, which was made up of the Pharisees and the Sadducees and all those sects.

[29:42] They have teamed up and they will always come and the scribes, they come and challenge Jesus. They want to check what he was doing and what he was saying. So, this one is a teacher of the law. He was part of them. All right?

[29:52] So, he came and asked him with a team. After question upon question, they asked, after asking questions, he said, me too, I will ask you a question. And then he asked him a question. I've said this a few times, that the Christ, whose son is he?

[30:04] That's a very serious question. But every Jew, who is well taught, knows that the Christ is supposed to be David's son. So, they didn't have to think twice. They said, of course, he's the son of David.

[30:18] Look at that's common knowledge. Then Jesus asked a biblical question that threw them out of sync because these are teachers of the law. He asked them, teachers of the scriptures, they are scribes.

[30:31] He asked them a question they couldn't answer from what they have been teaching. He said that, if he is the son of David, how come David calls him my Lord? Then he quoted some, for the Lord said to my Lord, sit thee at my right hand until I make you.

[30:52] And they knew David was talking about the Messiah. But how can David call him his Lord when he is the son of David? Because those days, you don't do that. And then, the Bible says that, from that time on, no one asked him the question because the conundrum and the complexity about the Messiah is his nature.

[31:13] He was the son of man, right? But he was also the son of God. At that time, it doesn't ever enter. Now, watch this. He said, that thing that will be born will be called the son of God.

[31:24] That is why the Bible says that those of us who believe in him, we are the son. He didn't say you will be called the child of God. He will be called the son of God. Because in Bible tradition, it's sons that inherit.

[31:39] Yes, yes, yes. But the word sons is not gender sensitive. So when he says that we are the sons of God, he's not talking about boys and girls. He's talking about those who share the DNA of God.

[31:52] Because human beings by nature can't share God's DNA. So, Jesus, watch this. In Isaiah, I'm going further a little bit and I'll come back to remove the baby from the Christmas.

[32:09] I'm actually starting to remove him now. In Isaiah chapter 9 verse 2, it talks about Jesus. It says that the people that walk in darkness have seen a great light.

[32:26] There that dwell in the land of the shadow of death upon them has light. That's talking about Jesus' appearance. Now, look at verse 6. This is the, where you go to.

[32:37] Is it Carol's night? These are some of the scriptures you read. You remember the scripture? For unto us, can we all read it out so you can feel Christmas? Let's go. For unto us the child is born, unto us the son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.

[33:02] No, no. This obviously is describing somebody. Mighty God is not a child. But it said, unto us a child is given. That's the nativity. Unto us a child, a son is born. The nativity behind the nativity was a son who was given.

[33:16] He wasn't born. That same child was a son. Now let's change the gear to John.

[33:32] Because, because, let me just get a little bit theological, but I'll explain it. Because the gospels in the New Testament are four.

[33:43] What are the gospels? One more time. Mark is always in a hurry.

[33:55] He doesn't have time. So he started the story of Jesus from his baptism. He behaved like Jesus was never born. He didn't appear. Just there was a John the Baptist came and he was baptizing people and baptized him.

[34:08] Excuse me, where did he come from? Tell us, where is this Jesus? He said, I don't have time for that. I want to talk about his ministry. Because he started ministry when he was baptized. So all the early days of his life are coming forward.

[34:18] It's not necessary. He was baptized and he started ministry. So let's talk about the ministry of Jesus. At this juncture, someone may ask, what is ministry? We started talking about the ministry of Jesus.

[34:31] So Mark didn't have time. But Matthew said, oh, come on. Let me tell you how he became. He is not just a child of Mary. But he traced him to Abraham.

[34:44] Because he said, Abraham was the one who had a covenant with God. And Abraham begat, begat, begat. Then David the king came in. And David begat, begat, begat, and then Jesus appeared.

[34:55] So Jesus is a real Jew. Descendant of Abraham. When God planned from Genesis, he had Jesus in mind. Then Luke says, oh, come on.

[35:08] Abraham is not far enough. We have to prove that Jesus is an actual human being. Let's trace his genealogy to human, the first human. So Luke comes to trace his genealogy. Luke chapter 3 all the way from verse 23 to 39.

[35:23] And then it says that he begat Adam. Adam, the son of God. Or begat him, the son of God. So he traced Jesus' genealogy to Adam who is the son of God.

[35:36] But John comes. He said, you are asking for genealogy because you are thinking in human terms. But this child is a son.

[35:48] So John said, okay, I think my audience are Greeks and Jews. I don't want to lose the Greeks. I don't want to lose the Jews. So he said, when you talk about Greeks, Greeks are intellectuals.

[36:00] And Greeks believe that this earth is not just a big bang. big bang. They believe that there is something, something, a reason because there is intelligence.

[36:13] When you look at the creation of the world, there is intelligence. It can be an accident. A cosmic accident can produce intelligence, intelligent design.

[36:24] And so the Greeks believe that there is something, there is wisdom behind it. And they say, no, we know there is something that is responsible for the order, for the wisdom and everything. but it is not a person, it is an impersonal force.

[36:38] And that impersonal force, they used to call it logos. That's the cause for everything that exists. It is called logos. Logos means the reason, the philosophy behind everything, the logos.

[36:50] So the logos is impersonal but it is the reason for everything. That is the Greeks. And with the Jews or the Hebrews, the Jews, every time in the Old Testament you come across the phrase, and the word of the Lord came to Zechariah.

[37:04] And the word of the Lord came to Amos. The word of the Lord. Because when the Jews understand, when they say the word of the Lord came, it means God came. So John said, I have to just get you to understand this thing.

[37:14] So John chapter 1, he said, in the beginning was the word. Jews, you get it, yeah, you're talking about God. Greeks, you get it, you're talking about the force behind creation. And he says that this force behind creation is not impersonal.

[37:28] So in the beginning, watch this, let's already have a laugh on the screen. One more time, louder. That is his Christmas story.

[37:47] I'll explain it. That what you are seeing existed before the beginning. He existed outside of time and space.

[38:00] before time and space were created, he existed. He actually was there before creation. In the beginning of what?

[38:13] That's a sweeping statement. In the beginning of everything. Before everything. And actually, in the Hebrew, in the beginning, this beginning is different from the Genesis beginning.

[38:24] In the beginning, God created. this beginning is actually technically the beginning before everything started. He said, in the beginning was the word.

[38:35] So before this creation started, he actually has been there. He has always been there before this. That tells you he has eternal existence.

[38:47] So the fact that you are talking about the baby born, babies have beginning. This particular baby is not an unmarried baby.

[39:02] In fact, you can still have Christmas without this baby. Because this baby has a baby was born, but this one is a child that is as you see him as a child is born.

[39:13] It's actually a son. There has always been somewhere. He just appeared. So the Christmas story in itself, if you neutralize the word from the Christmas, don't people always give birth?

[39:29] Babies are down. Someone is giving birth right now. One born every minute. Babies are always born. So what do you say about this baby? This baby is the word.

[39:42] So actually that's what makes it Christmas because the word has now decided to also oh, I feel like saying something. The word which doesn't have the beginning.

[39:52] Now when we say human beings, I'm going to get a little bit philosophical. When we say human beings, God is the only supreme being and actually philosophically God is the only being because you are not being.

[40:10] You are becoming. becoming. You are becoming. Since you washed and came here, you have become different. Your makeup has settled.

[40:27] So we technically, we are human becoming. Yes. I am not the same age when you saw me this. Between now and the time you saw me the month have grown.

[40:41] We are all changing. God is the only constant factor. But you know what is interesting? Watch this. Watch this. You know what is interesting about this?

[40:53] The one who doesn't change, the only eternal being, the supreme being, the one who is the only being, in the beginning was the word, the word was God.

[41:04] And verse 40 said the word became. How can a being become? That's the story of Christmas. The eternal being, for the first time, he became.

[41:22] So, before he became, before he became, he was there in existence. Watch this. In the beginning was the word.

[41:33] word. In the beginning was the word, and the word was, come on. He says, in the beginning, the word was with God.

[41:47] Can't you see the trinity? The word was with God, and yet the word was God. He had equality with God. Even though he had eternal existence with God, he at the same time had equality with God.

[42:04] He says, watch this. Interestingly, it is repeated again. It is repeated in the verse two, with God. So, look, he says, the same was in the beginning with God.

[42:18] So, to be with somebody, that means there's a difference. To be with, you are not the one you are with. But, go back to verse one.

[42:29] God, the word was with God, and he said, yes, the word was God. You can separate them.

[42:41] God, in a certain sense, is a them. Some people say, oh, no. You know, the son, when you say God is trinity, it's just that, yeah, I agree, but just that he manifests himself in different times.

[42:53] So, sometimes the same God will show up as the Holy Spirit. And at the same God will show up as the son. And after he shows up as God the father, that's the explanation to the trinity. Then they get confused when Jesus was being baptized, and God was speaking from heaven, the Holy Ghost was coming down.

[43:07] So, which one is which? Which one? Time will not permit me throughout the Old Testament, all attributes that were only reserved for God were rightly described, given to Jesus.

[43:24] They worshiped Jesus, and Jesus didn't say, no, don't do that. Angels, genuine angels will refuse worship. You worship a ninja, say, no, no, stop it, I'm also a creature. You can't worship.

[43:35] But Jesus, they worship him, and he didn't say anything. It's very interesting, because he's God. They said his name shall be mighty God, everlasting counselor. Who is everlasting?

[43:45] Who is mighty? So, this child who has been born has already had eternal existence, and he had eternal existence with God, and yet, he is God, and Bible says that, oh, the big one, all things, all things, all, verse 3, all things, all things were made by him, positive.

[44:08] Then he said the negative one, without him was not anything made that was made. All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made.

[44:22] in him was life, and the life is light. That life is light, it's the same. And the light shines in darkness, and darkness cannot handle that light.

[44:40] This, it is this one who had eternal existence with God, he was co-equal to God, yet had self-existence.

[44:52] He had eternal existence, he had equal existence, and then he had self-existence. He said all things were made by him.

[45:05] So in the beginning, God created the heavens, and all what God was doing, he was, in fact, 1 Corinthians chapter 8, verse 6, talks about how all things exist through him. 1 Corinthians chapter 8, verse 6, but unto us there is but one God, the Father, whom are all things and by whom, and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we are by him.

[45:29] Everything was like, Colossians chapter 1, verse 17, it said, all things, it said, he is before all things, and by him all things consist. So, he didn't just create, he wasn't the chief agent of creation, he's the one who also sustains creation.

[45:48] it's because of him, that's why the bushfires have not burnt all of us. Some of you didn't get it.

[46:01] It's because of him, that's why this world hasn't been destroyed. Hitler could have destroyed it, but he doesn't have what it takes because there is a supernatural being called the word, sustaining everything by the word of his power.

[46:14] this world will not be destroyed until the time comes. The Bible says that the whole earth will melt like fire, mart in fire.

[46:28] It will be rolled away, and it will melt, melt. You're talking about global warming, it will melt like fire. The original time will come, but up to now, nothing can temper with this because what?

[46:41] God sustains all things according to Hebrews. He sustains all things by the word of his power. He sustains. I think Hebrews chapter 1 verse 3. Sustaining all things by the word of his power.

[46:53] That's talking about Jesus. Hebrews chapter 1 verse 2. Talking about, look at verse 2. Verse 2. Verse 2 says that God has in this day spoken to us by his son, whom he has appointed of all things, by whom also he made the world.

[47:10] Everything was made by him. And look at verse 3. verse 3. Who, talking about Jesus, being the brightness of God's glory and the express image of his person and upholding all things by the word of his power.

[47:22] He's the one. Colossians says that by whom all things consist. The chair is not melting because of the word that spoke the chair into existence.

[47:35] Let me finish this. So this man, this God, the one who had existing eternity with God, equality with God, self-existence with God, verse 14 of John chapter 1, Bible says that, and this is the, that's where Christmas came in.

[47:57] Let's all read verse 14 together. The first line, let's go. And the Lord came in flesh, and the Lord come on the first sentence. Let's go. Louder, please.

[48:13] Excuse me. This thing that was not created became like a creature. That is where the Christmas story comes. And John said, can we strip all these other things and go to who has actually come?

[48:31] Because John is the only one who gave us heaven's perspective on Christmas. And heaven's perspective on Christmas is mangerless.

[48:43] It is baby-less. It is Mary-less. It is Joseph-less. Not that Mary and Joseph and all that were not important, but the original, what makes Christmas Christmas?

[48:55] What makes it unique? The original thing, the actual thing happening is God has entered humanity. God has entered humanity. So for us, when we mention Christmas, yeah, we thank God for Mary because Mary gave him his human nature.

[49:15] He needed a human nature to be a human being. So that is why we talk about Matthew, Mark. I was going to tell you how Matthew, Mark, Luke, how they are synoptic, but let's leave that.

[49:26] John didn't talk about agony in the garden. John didn't talk about even his ascension.

[49:37] He didn't talk about his baptism. He didn't talk about a lot of things. He didn't talk about the parables. He was talking about this Jesus from heaven's perspective.

[49:47] So that's why he started his, the origin of Jesus didn't start with Mary. The origin of Jesus didn't start with the, in the manger. The origin of Jesus is unto us a child is given, but within that child, that child is a son.

[50:02] That's why the angel told Mary that that holy thing that will be born of you shall be called the son of God. And the angel told Joseph that she shall give birth, a virgin shall conceive, as it is written in Isaiah chapter 7 verse 14, that a virgin shall conceive and bring forth a child.

[50:22] God said, God himself will give us a son. He will give us a son. And he said, the son is that a virgin shall conceive and will bring forth a child and they shall call his name Emmanuel.

[50:36] And so the angel quoted that to Joseph in Matthew chapter 1. And he says that you, they shall, let's do something in Matthew chapter 1 verse 21, for he shall save his people from their sins.

[50:46] I like that one. Matthew 21, it says that and she shall bring forth a son and you shall call his name Jesus. You shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins.

[51:01] Jesus means God saves. Jesus means God our savior. So you shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. Verse 22, so all this was done that it were fulfilled by which was spoken by the Lord through the prophets saying, behold, a virgin shall be with child and bear a son and they shall call his name Emmanuel.

[51:29] He said, this will be Emmanuel, meaning God is with us, but you, as God is with you, you shall call him God our savior. God is with you for what? To save you. To save you.

[51:40] Listen, the reason why there have been a lot of noise and concern about the prosperity preaching is because of its excesses. sometimes it's some people whose hearts are just set on material things present the prosperity gospel as though Jesus died so you can be rich.

[52:04] Abraham was rich without the death of Jesus. Must he come and die for you to be rich? No, there are a lot of rich people who don't have Jesus. Job was the richest man in the East without Jesus.

[52:17] Solomon was a fantastic dusted. He was rich. So, there must be something greater for the coming of Jesus than just to make you rich or to heal your sickness.

[52:34] And when he says he shall save his people, as a preacher, I can put a spin on it which is actually legitimate. Save your marriage.

[52:45] Save your crisis. Save your finances. But to be honest, that salvation is not talking about all those petty, petty, petty, petty ones. Even though when I say it is okay, but that's not what you're talking about.

[53:00] When he says he shall save his people, it's from your sins. Sins, sins, sins. You're a sinner like you and I. Who will save you from this is your sin? He said sin from sin.

[53:12] So salvation is salvation from sin. Not just even sleep. From sin. Sleeping and lying. It's from sin. So your entry point into church is where you have been saved from your sins.

[53:27] May I ask you, have you been saved from your sins? If you are not saved from your sins, you are going to hell. You are not a Christian. How? How can you say it? I didn't say it. The Bible said it. Don't die in your sins.

[53:39] Can I tell you? My brother, don't die in your sins. In John chapter 8 verse 24, I feel like, let me hit myself. Don't die in your sins.

[53:51] John 8 24, he said, if you don't believe, you will die in your sins. In other words, you can die without the life you are going to die in your sins.

[54:04] Why are you coming to church and you are still a sinner? You have to give your life to Jesus. Pastor, I can't sleep. I'm having a lot of demons attacking me.

[54:15] Are you born again? That's more important than the attacks you are getting that you be set free from. That's more important. We can pray for you and the healing will come. We can pray for you you will be set free from the attack.

[54:27] But he will come with the bigger one later. Are he born again? Christmas is about God coming to save us from our sins.

[54:44] Many people are comfortable with him remaining a baby. there's a song they sing Oh Little Baby or something like that.

[55:02] No the baby. No donkey donkey and something. Oh that's Sunday school.

[55:13] They sing donkey little donkey little donkey how do you sing? You know children like these things. That's why everybody is excited about Christmas.

[55:27] It's not because of sins that you are being saved from. It's the baby they are having. It's the baby unto us a child is born.

[55:38] And the son is given. And to us a child is born. Hey Jesus. And every time from the time you were born, every time Mary is carrying a baby. Mary is always carrying a baby.

[55:58] So no wonder you have become just religious because the Jesus you know is an infant. And you can't see past his childhood.

[56:10] You can't see because he became. So as soon as he became the eternal being becomes he grew and he got to the place where he can die for our sins.

[56:26] He died on the cross to save us from our sins. He wasn't a baby. No baby died on the cross. God is a God of wisdom. The word God has given you, he knows how to protect you for it to happen.

[56:43] Just trust him and obey him. Trust and obey for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust him.

[56:59] We thank God for using his servant Reverend Dr. David Antri to share this awesome word. If this message has blessed you in any way, please spread the word by sharing it and send us an email to amen at karis.org.

[57:12] Remember to stay connected with us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter for regular updates on what God is doing here at Karis Ministries. Stay blessed.