[0:00] this message was recorded at vision baptist church in alfred georgia it is our prayer that you'll be blessed by the preaching of god's word all right we're going to take our bibles now and open them if you would to matthew chapter one and we're going to uh study from verse 18 to the end of the chapter and so if you would uh if you would uh take your bible and look with me i will read with you verse 18 and then i'm going to tell you the story because of having two languages and uh so so we can finish about on time the bible says in matthew 1 18 now the birth of jesus christ was on this wise when as his mother mary was espoused to joseph before they came together she was found with child of the holy ghost father in heaven i ask you to work tonight holy spirit of god i beg you to come over this service i pray that you would quiet our hearts i pray you would open ears and i pray god that those who have never understood the purpose behind your coming i pray that tonight they would understand that and if they have never been born again i pray that tonight would be the night that they would come to know you as their personal savior god i ask you to help us see that we were sinners we deserved hell but your great love gave the greatest gift of all eternity please work tonight in jesus name amen it's been 400 years when you get to matthew chapter 1 it's been 400 years and god hadn't said anything and all of a sudden god steps out on the scene and starts writing the bible again and he's in matthew and he tells us the story of the birth of jesus christ and it goes something like this there was this young virgin girl that shouldn't be anything unusual so that's not the center of this story because all young girls that haven't gotten married ought to be virgins and so that wouldn't be a miracle so there was a young girl and she wasn't married and she never had sex and she had a boyfriend and they were engaged and they were going to get married and all of a sudden she found out she is pregnant she is going to have a baby and her husband joseph hears about that he loves her and he's a good guy he's a saved man but he said how did she get pregnant
[3:46] I'm not the daddy and so I'm going to divorce her I'm going to cut off the engagement I'm not going to marry her because she's with child and while he was thinking about all that an angel came from God and he says Joseph you don't have to worry about it the baby she has in her is a legitimate baby she hasn't been with any man but I am God and I am preparing to send my son to the earth Mary was upset too she was shocked she didn't know what in the world was going on the angel explained it to her and here's what the story was man has sinned and man's sin has separated him from God and so she is going to have a son who will save his people from their sins and it was exactly what
[5:05] God had already said in the Old Testament so it wasn't anything new God had already said he was going to do this he even said there would be a virgin and so it was the will of God and he said the baby will have more than one name just like you and I usually have more than one name and one of his names would be Emmanuel and Emmanuel means God with us and when he was born they gave him the name Jesus he came from God to save people from their sins so let me give you about three or four things you can write down if you take notes if you got a Bible there they're going to have the verses behind my head in Spanish and in English the first verse we'll look at is Matthew 1.21 and the Bible says and she shall bring forth the Son and thou shalt call his name Jesus for he shall save his people from their sins in the beginning
[6:33] God made man and man lived in God's presence and God had made everything for man and everything that man could ever need and for man's happiness and God only put one restriction some liar told you that God was this real strict God with all these bunch of rules and man could never make it but that wasn't the truth he put them in paradise and he gave them everything in the garden he said there's only one thing don't eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil and that's all he told him not to do but man decided that he would do what he wanted to do he would not do what his creator decreed doing what man wanted was sin and it brought death
[7:46] I want you to understand something God built a garden the paradise the garden of Eden perfect beautiful it was the most fantastic thing you could possibly imagine and God himself came down every afternoon when the sun went down and he walked with man and he had fellowship with man but man said I don't want to I don't want to do what God wants I would like to do what I want I'd like to make my own decisions I don't want God to be in charge I want me to be in charge and he may only make one rule but I'm going to break that rule because I'm not going to do what he says to do now he was tempted and his wife was tempted and they sinned but here's what you need to know all of humanity was placed under sin every man became a sinner all the world was under the payment of sin and that is death and so all of man was going to die and in the story you have in front of you you have a supernatural act of God verse 1
[9:26] Matthew 1 18 the Bible says now the birth now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise when as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph before they came together she was found with child of the Holy Ghost that's impossible that is not normal that is not natural but then God making man that's not natural either when a God that can step out of nothing and of nothing make everything he is God and he built all this earth he made man and now all of a sudden man has sinned against God and God has a plan and his plan is to rescue man from their sins in verse 20 the Bible says but while he thought on these things behold the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream saying Joseph son of David fear not to take unto thee
[10:44] Mary thy wife for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost here's what he was saying you messed up you messed up you sinned you did wrong there's nothing you can do that could ever fix what's gone wrong so I'm fixing to step in and I'm going to change history and I'm going to rescue you from your sins no virgin that can have a baby it's impossible have a baby without something happening but God stepped in a supernatural act before Mary and
[11:49] Joseph ever got together Mary was with child by the Holy Spirit Mary was a virgin she'd never been with a man it was God using Mary to take on human flesh now I want to remind you of the story when man sinned he tried to cover his shame and embarrassment with fig leaves he hid from God ashamed and afraid and he did not go looking for God it was from the beginning God who came looking for man to save him it was God who came to reconcile it was God who came to break the separation of sin and that's the story of the birth of Jesus just exactly that
[12:55] God breaking into history to save man now watch the story Adam and Eve are in the garden of Eden they're in this perfect place there is nothing you can imagine that you could do to make it better and only one thing they shouldn't have done but they just like us they said I want to do what I want to do I'll live life my way and I'll do as I think is right and you can think what you think and I really don't care what God thinks about this I'll do what I want and they did and the second they did they found out that they were naked and there they were in the garden and they looked down and they said we're naked we're embarrassed and instead of going to God and say God we messed up we did something wrong and we want help would you please cover us back up would you please forgive us they didn't do that they hid they found a place and they thought nobody would see them and they got behind the bushes they made themselves some clothes they were ashamed they were guilty they were embarrassed and here they are no hope now I know what you're thinking
[14:42] I know why they were doing that God was mad they broke his one little rule and he was going to come after them well you're right about one part he came after them that afternoon he came down to the garden and he looked around now he's God he knows exactly what's happened but he says Adam Eve where are y'all we always go for a walk where are you and Adam said I'm sorry we're hidden we're naked we're embarrassed and we ain't coming out and God said come out here and he took off their fig leaves and he killed a little lamb that would represent the son of God
[15:50] Jesus Christ and he covered their sin and he covered their nakedness it was God who stepped out and rescued a man who messed up and when you get to Matthew 1 and you get to the story of Christmas here's the story 4,000 years man has never been able to do right he failed God in the garden of Eden he failed God when there were no governments he failed God when God gave perfect law he failed God when he had preachers to tell him what to do because the story of man is that he fails that he is a sinner that he can't do right he cannot do right no matter how much you think you do right you don't do right you can't do right and so
[16:58] God stepped out he stopped everything he says Mary you're going to have a baby Joseph you're going to have a baby won't be your baby be mine but this will be God coming to earth God coming to earth in human flesh who will die on a cross who will be buried and three days later he will overcome the grave and he will save man from his sin now go to Matthew 1 22 you see that's not a surprise the bible says in Matthew 1 22 now all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the lord by the prophet saying now listen to this see God wasn't surprised just like he's not surprised you're here tonight you see
[18:05] God knew man was going to sin and God made a plan of salvation way back before the world ever started and he said I'm going to save those who will trust in my work and in Isaiah or the prophets here he said this is happening because it's what I said would happen now listen all that happens on the Christmas story that you always hear about that didn't just happen God had already said it would happen God planned it way back there and so when Mary got pregnant the angel says hey don't be shocked I wrote this back in Isaiah hey hundreds of years ago
[19:08] I said this is going to happen because I love you because I want people to go to heaven because I do not want you to live under your sin I want you to have salvation God loved us from the beginning he promised us he promised Adam and Eve salvation in Genesis chapter 3 verse 15 the first chapter the first book of your Bible Adam and Eve have sinned and they are under the penalty of sin and we are under the penalty of sin that's why we live in a messed up world that's why we get cancer that's why we get old that's why we die you want to hear a wild one there were really two trees in the garden that were way above and beyond normal one was a tree of knowledge of good and evil and God said don't eat of that tree but there was also another tree that was a tree of life that they would have lived forever but they didn't choose that tree because they wanted to do what they wanted to do and in
[20:43] Genesis 3 15 now sin has had its consequence they're going to die physical deaths they've been separated from God they're no longer allowed in the garden there's an angel with a great big sword that protects the entrance they'll never go back in now man will make his living working hard sweating and a woman will have babies but with great pain that she wouldn't have had before but he looked at her and he said look lady you messed up but I'm going to let you be the one that I use to bring God himself to the earth you open the door to sin and I will allow a woman to be a virgin and have a baby and here's how he put it
[21:57] Genesis 3 15 and I will put enmity between thee and the woman and between thy seed and her seed and it shall bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise his heel God would allow the woman to have a child that would bruise the head of the serpent Satan the woman's child would be wounded but only in his heel and that's all that would happen and in the cross of Calvary Jesus died the seed of a woman just like the sweet promise that God gave Eve but he was dead only for three days only three days three nights and he rose again but on that day
[23:06] Jesus said it is finished salvation is paid for man can have he can have peace with God again man can have salvation man can return to my presence man's sins will be forgiven man didn't make a plan of salvation but a plan of escape for him man only thought of I gotta get out of here and tonight maybe you came and instead of saying I'm gonna trust God you're trying to hide your you're hiding your sin you're hiding your shame you're hiding your embarrassment you don't want to talk about it you don't want to be close to God about this you'd rather hide deny reality cover up make excuses but it was
[24:18] God that came so you could be saved it was God who made a plan of salvation in Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 2 the Bible says looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross despising the shame and is set down at the right hand of the throne of grace the throne of God God's plan was totally at his expense a gift his grace extended to unworthy man who didn't even desire help and didn't even seek help detail after detail of the birth of Jesus was foretold in the Old
[25:27] Testament so that you know that this is no casual event this is not a coincidence this was the birth of Jesus God coming to be man to save a man who walked away from him making his own decisions look if you would at Matthew 1 23 behold a virgin shall be with child and shall bring forth a son and they shall call his name Emmanuel which being interpreted is God with us the God who had cast them out of the garden because of their sin came looking for them Jesus came to earth that was God coming in search of lost undeserving man man it wasn't us wanting him but it was him wanting us he interrupts history he bursts on the scene he wakes up the world to say God has come to seek and save man the story is not about the gifts to God it's not about
[27:01] Mary the virgin it's not about the shepherds it's not about the wise men it's a story of a God who loved you and came to this earth to seek and save man chose his own way he walked away from God he didn't desire to be with God he didn't want to serve God he didn't even look for God but God came looking now you listen to me tonight here's the Christmas story this exact story out of the Bible you have sinned against a holy God you might not like to admit it you might say this is a Christmas story we're supposed to think happy thoughts well I got a happy thought for you you know you've sinned and even though you try to deny reality even though you try to hide and try to cover up but down deep inside you know you have sinned against a holy God you know that your sin has brought consequences and will bring consequences but I want to tell you the good news
[28:31] Jesus paid your sin debt he took your sin on his shoulders and when he was nailed to a cross he paid our sin debt I can be saved because of what Jesus did the salvation that I have comes not because of what I've done it certainly doesn't come from a Baptist church it doesn't come from any kind of church it doesn't come from an evangelistic church it doesn't come from good living it doesn't come from morals it doesn't come from keeping rules it really comes when you realize you couldn't keep the rules and you realize man I messed up there's no hope for me
[29:39] I feel dirty I feel like a failure I don't know how God could ever love me oh you're this close this close because when you see yourself in this sinful condition all you'll need to do is receive the gift the gift of God the Bible says the wages or payment for sin is death but then it says the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord are you here tonight and you're religious I mean you live in Georgia that means you're saved that means you're a Christian but the truth is no you're not and you know you're not you're religious you're good you're a nice person but no nice people do not go to heaven only sinners go to heaven sinners that realize they sinned and trust
[31:09] Jesus for what he did on the cross of Calvary and so today I offer you the greatest gift that God has ever given life through Jesus forgiveness of sins through Jesus new life you don't have to deny reality anymore you don't have to hide in shame you can come to Jesus and be forgiven and born again and know Jesus as your Savior I invite you in this very moment to trust Jesus you say whoa whoa whoa I don't want to be a part of your church I'm not even talking about our church you see being a part of a church doesn't get you to heaven let me tell you hell is going to be full of Baptists they probably got their whole compartment for Baptists
[32:14] Baptists don't go to heaven you know who goes to heaven sinners that trust Jesus and so tonight you came here and you think you came because it would be fun and you think you came because your friend invited you but what you don't know is there's a God in heaven that loves you has worked in your life has touched your heart made you willing to come tonight let you sit here and listen and every word we've said has entered into your heart and you're like I don't know where that's coming from I don't know how this is happening but it's because the God of heaven loves you and wants to save you and he is telling you now that you're a sinner so that you'll just simply trust him would you do that right now let's bow our heads for a word of prayer please with every head bowed and every guy closed would you please listen to me for a second would you admit you've sinned would you admit that you have failed a holy God tonight has this message touched your heart do you realize your need of being saved would you tonight say to God
[34:00] I have sinned I do know I have failed you and I admit my sin I confess that I failed and God I want you to save me I am trusting what Jesus did on the cross of Calvary and I want to be saved tonight if you're here and you would lift your hand I will send somebody to your side they'll take you to a place in private they will not pressure you they will just answer your questions they will throw they will show you through the Bible how you can be saved help you understand what you don't understand tonight and you can be sure tonight that your sins are forgiven that God has come to find you and he loves you if you'd like to be helped tonight we just hold your hand up nobody's looking at me and I'll send a worker to talk to you in private if you'd like me to help you just hold your hand up would there be anybody with your heads bowed and your eyes closed
[35:25] I want you to know before you leave that I am ready to help you the pastors of this church are ready brother Ronald is ready to help in the Spanish and Miguel and Ben they'll help you you need to trust Jesus father God in heaven I pray that you would convict people I pray God you won't let them continue down their sinful road doing what they want to do but that you would cause them to trust you tonight and I'll give you praise for God you have been listening to Austin Gardner pastor of vision Baptist church for contact information location service times or more audio and video recordings logon to www.visionbaptist.com
[36:32] Thank you.