FAITH BIBLE CHURCH - www.faithbiblechurch.net

RAY RUSS - PASTOR-TEACHER

TITLE: THE MASTER'S PLAN

TEXT: GALATIANS 4:4-5

INTRODUCTION: (1) NO ONE REALLY KNOWS WHEN CHRIST WAS BORN.

* IT PROBABLY WAS NOT DECEMBER 25TH, THE REASON BEING SCRIPTURE SAYS THERE WERE SHEPHERDS IN THE FIELD WATCHING OVER THEIR FLOCKS, AND THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN HIGHLY UNLIKELY AT THAT TIME OF THE YEAR IN ISRAEL.

(2) SO WHERE DID WE COME UP WITH DECEMBER 25TH?

* WELL, MOST LIKELY IT CAME FROM THE ROMAN HOLIDAY CALLED SATURNALIA, WHICH WAS A PAGAN OBSERVANCE OF THE BIRTHDAY OF THE UNCONQUERED S U N SUN.

** SATURNALIA BEGAN DECEMBER 17TH WHICH, IN THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE, IS WHEN THE DAYS START GETTING LONGER SO THE SUN IS UP MORE, AND THIS OBSERVANCE CONTINUED WITH SEVEN DAYS OF WILD REVELRY.

*** NOW HISTORICALLY FROM WHAT I HAVE LOOKED UP, THE EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCH TOOK THIS ANCIENT FESTIVAL TIME AND GAVE NEW MEANING TO IT.

**** THEY TURNED IT INTO AN OBSERVANCE OF THE BIRTHDAY OF THE S O N, SON.

(3) AND BY THE MIDDLE OF THE 4TH CENTURY THE CHURCH IN THE WEST PRIMARILY THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH WAS CELEBRATING CHRISTMAS ON DECEMBER 25TH.

* LATER VARIOUS BRANCHES OF THE EASTERN ORTHODOX CHURCH ALSO ACCEPTED DECEMBER 25TH FOR OBSERVING CHRIST’S BIRTHDAY.

** AND IN A.D. 336 EMPEROR CONSTANTINE DECLARED CHRIST’S BIRTHDAY AN OFFICIAL ROMAN HOLIDAY.

(4) AND SINCE THOSE DAYS, DECEMBER 25TH HAS ENDURED AS THE DAY WE CELEBRATE CHRIST’S BIRTH.

* NOW IS IT WRONG TO CELEBRATE DECEMBER 25 AS OUR SAVIOR’S BIRTHDAY? WELL, I DON’T THINK SO. IN FACT I DON’T THINK THE DAY REALLY MATTERS.

** FOR YOU SEE THE WHOLE IDEA OF CHRISTMAS IS THIS: WE AS TRUE BELIEVERS ARE NOT COMMEMORATING A DAY; WE ARE CELEBRATING AN EVENT.

*** AND THAT EVENT IS THE MIRACLE OF THE INCARNATION, THE BIRTH OF GOD’S SON INTO THE HUMAN FAMILY.

**** FOR DURING THE CHRISTMAS SEASON, CHRISTIANS EVERYWHERE ASCRIBE GLORY TO GOD FOR SENDING HIS SON TO BE OUR SAVIOR, THAT GOD BECAME MAN TO SAVE MAN, THAT THE ETERNAL WORD WAS MADE FLESH, READ JOHN 1:14.

(5) SO THE DAY DOESN’T MATTER, FOR WE ARE CELEBRATING A MIRACLE, WE ARE CELEBRATING AN EVENT, THE INCARNATION, THE 1ST ADVENT OF CHRIST THE LORD!

* AND YOU MAY NOT BELIEVE IN CELEBRATING THE DAY – AND ALL THAT OUR CULTURE HAS THROWN INTO IT.

** AND HISTORICALLY THE CHURCH DIDN’T UNTIL AFTER A.D. 200 OR LATER BECAUSE OF GREAT PERSECUTION FOR THEIR FAITH. AND THE EARLY CHURCH OF THE N.T. CELEBRATED JESUS’ RESURRECTION BUT NOT HIS BIRTH AND THE PURITANS IN EARLY AMERICA REJECTED CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS.

*** AND AGAIN YOU MAY NOT BELIEVE IN CELEBRATING THE DAY, THAT MAY BE YOUR PREFERENCE OR CONVICTION, AND THERE ARE PEOPLE LIKE THAT, THAT ARE GOOD CHRISTIANS.

**** BUT YOU CANNOT IGNORE THE CHRISTMAS MIRACLE AND STILL BE A GOOD CHRISTIAN. FOR AGAIN REMEMBER, WE ARE NOT COMMEMORATING A DAY, WE ARE CELEBRATING A WONDERFUL EVENT IN HISTORY, THE BIRTH OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.

***** AND TO THE CHRISTIAN, THAT IS IMPORTANT. IT IS SOMETHING THAT IS VITAL AND SHOULD BRING US GREAT JOY.

(6) TO ILLUSTRATE THAT, WARREN WIERSBE TELLS OF AN EXPERIENCE HE HAD AT CHRISTMAS TIME ONE YEAR THAT IS APPLICABLE HERE.

* WIERSBE SAID: “ONE CHRISTMAS SEASON I WAS LEADING A MIDWEEK SERVICE IN ONE OF THE CHURCHES I PASTORED; AND WE WERE DEALING WITH THE FACT THAT SOME CHRISTIANS ARE NEGATIVE ABOUT CELEBRATING THE BIRTH OF GOD’S SON.

** A HEBREW CHRISTIAN IN THE CONGREGATION SPOKE UP AND SAID, WELL, WHY SHOULDN’T WE CELEBRATE CHRIST’S BIRTH? THE FATHER CERTAINLY MADE A BIG FUSS OVER IT!!”

(7) AND INDEED HE DID! HE SENT HIS ANGEL TO MAKE THE ANNOUNCEMENT TO THE SHEPHERDS, AN ANNOUNCEMENT OF GOOD NEWS THAT WOULD BRING GREAT JOY.

* BEYOND THAT GOD PUT A STAR IN THE HEAVENS AT HIS BIRTH THAT REAPPEARED TO GUIDE THE WISE MEN LATER AS THEY SEARCHED FOR THE CHILD JESUS. NEVER WAS A BABY BORN SO HUMBLY AND YET SO GLORIOUSLY!!

* THE HEAVENLY HOST WERE PRAISING GOD AND SAYING, GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST. (FOR THE GLORY OF GOD CAME DOWN TO MAN.)

** SO, THERE IS NO NEED TO BE CRITICAL AND NEGATIVE ON THIS CHRISTMAS DAY 2005.

*** AS CHRISTIANS, WE CAN LOOK BEYOND THE INCIDENTALS AND SEE THE ESSENTIALS, THE ETERNAL THINGS THAT CAN NEVER CHANGE REGARDLESS OF WHAT THE WORLD DOES WITH THIS SEASON.

**** FOR WE ARE NOT COMMEMORATING A DAY, WE ARE CELEBRATING A MIRACLE; AND WE MUST NOT PERMIT ANYBODY TO ROB US OF THIS GREAT BLESSING.

(8) IN LIGHT OF THAT, I WANT TO LOOK AT THAT EVENT THAT CHANGED HISTORY, THE INCARNATION AND I WANT TO LOOK AT IT OUT OF GALATIANS 4:4&5.

* AND I’VE TITLED OUR MESSAGE ON THIS SPECIAL MORNING “THE MASTER’S PLAN.”

** BUT BEFORE WE GET INTO GALATIANS 4:4&5 AND SEE THE MASTER’S PLAN, LET ME GIVE YOU THE SETTING, THE CONTEXT AND BACKGROUND FOR THIS TEXT. IT’S REAL IMPORTANT.

(9) NOW THE MESSAGE OF THE BOOK OF GALATIANS IS THE MESSAGE OF THE CHRISTIAN’S SPIRITUAL FREEDOM, HIS DELIVERANCE BY CHRIST FROM THE BONDAGE OF SIN AND RELIGIOUS LEGALISM.

* THE THEME OF GALATIANS, AND A CENTRAL THEME OF THE ENTIRE N.T. IS THAT TRUE SPIRITUAL FREEDOM COMES ONLY THROUGH JESUS CHRIST.

** NOW IN THIS LETTER PAUL DEALS WITH SPIRITUAL FREEDOM ON TWO FRONTS. THE FIRST FRONT (CHAPTERS 3&4) IS THAT OF SALVATION, THROUGH WHICH CHRIST SETS A PERSON FREE FROM BONDAGE TO SIN AND THE LAW.

- PAUL’S SECOND FRONT IN GALATIANS (CHAPTERS 5&6) IS THAT OF SANCTIFICATION, THE FREEDOM GOD GIVES HIS CHILDREN TO LIVE OUT LIVES OF FAITHFULNESS AND GENUINE RIGHTEOUSNESS, FREE FROM SIN’S CONTROL AND LEGALISTIC BONDAGE.

(10) NOW IN CHAPTER 4 OF GALATIANS, PAUL CONTINUES HIS BASIC ARGUMENT THAT SALVATION IS NOT GAINED BY MAN’S MERIT OR WORKS BUT SOLELY BY GOD’S SOVEREIGN GRACE WORKING THROUGH MAN’S FAITH.

* THEN PAUL FURTHER DEVELOPS THE ANALOGY OF A CHILD BECOMING AN ADULT WHICH HE DID IN GALATIANS 3:23-26 (READ VV. 24&25).

** NOW GET THIS, PAUL COMPARES THE POSITION AND PRIVILEGES OF A CHILD TO THOSE OF A SERVANT WITH THE FIGURES OF CHILD AND SERVANT REPRESENTING LIFE UNDER THE LAW AND THE FIGURES OF ADULT AND SON REPRESENTING LIFE IN CHRIST.

*** AND THE CENTRAL TRUTHS OF GALATIANS 4:1-11 ARE THAT LIFE UNDER LAW IS MEANT BY GOD TO BE A PREPARATION FOR DIVINE SONSHIP AND THAT TRUST IN HIS GRACE BRINGS REALIZATION OF THAT SONSHIP.

**** TO PUT IT ANOTHER WAY, WE GO FROM SERVANTS AND CHILDREN TO ADULTS AND SONS THROUGH CHRIST!

(11) AND ALL OF THIS HAPPENS BECAUSE OF GALATIANS 4:4&5. (READ THEM).

* NOW THE POINT IS BECAUSE OF THE INCARNATION OF CHRIST AND HIS DEATH AND RESURRECTION, HIS PEOPLE WILL BE REDEEMED FROM THE CURSE OF THE LAW WHICH IS DEATH, AND BE ADOPTED INTO GOD’S FAMILY AS SONS.

** AND WITH THAT IN MIND, WE’LL LOOK AT TWO THINGS THIS MORNING AS WE THINK OF THE MASTER’S PLAN. NO. 1 THE PLAN OF THE INCARNATION, V. 4; AND NO. 2 THE PURPOSE OF THE INCARNATION, V. 5. AND TO BEGIN WITH LET’S LOOK AT THE PLAN. LOOK AT V. 4 PLEASE.

I. THE PLAN OF THE INCARNATION, (READ V. 4)

A. NOW IN THE PLAN OF GOD, GOD SENT HIS SON AT THE EXACT MOMENT IN TIME WHEN IT WOULD BE BEST FOR HIM TO COME.

* JESUS WAS BORN IN A MANGER IN BETHLEHEM AT THE EXACT TIME IN HISTORY THAT GOD THE FATHER WANTED HIM TO BE BORN. NOT A MOMENT TOO SOON OR TOO LATE, BUT IN THE FULLNESS OF TIME.

* IN FACT THE PHRASE “FULLNESS OF TIME” REFERS TO THE COMPLETION OF THE PERIOD OF PREPARATION IN GOD’S SOVEREIGN TIMETABLE OF REDEMPTION.

** IN OTHER WORDS WHEN THE LAW HAD FULLY ACCOMPLISHED IT’S PURPOSE OF SHOWING MAN HIS UTTER SINFULNESS AND HIS INABILITY TO LIVE UP TO GOD’S PERFECT STANDARD OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, GOD USHERED IN A NEW ERA OF REDEMPTION.

*** SACRIFICES AND CEREMONIES WOULD BE SET ASIDE AS THE PERFECT SACRIFICE; THE PERFECT LAMB WOULD BECOME OUR SIN OFFERING, HEBREWS 10:10, 12-14 (READ THEM).

**** AND BELOVED THE PERFECT SACRIFICE CAME AT THE PERFECT TIME, WHICH LEADS TO THE QUESTION, WHAT WAS “THE FULLNESS OF THE TIME?”

**** WELL, IT WAS GOD’S SOVEREIGN TIMING. FOR HE ORDERED WORLD EVENTS SO EVERYTHING WAS READY FOR CHRIST’S COMING AND THE SUBSEQUENT OUTREACH OF THE APOSTLES.

***** AND LOOKING BACK AT THE EARLY CHURCH, WE ARE AMAZED AT HOW QUICKLY THE GOSPEL SPREAD IN LESS THAN A CENTURY. THE SOVEREIGN HAND OF GOD IS CLEARLY EVIDENT. CHRIST’S ADVENT COULD NOT HAVE BEEN TIMED BETTER.

1. POLITICALLY, THE ROMAN EMPIRE WAS AT ITS HEIGHT. ROME HAD GIVEN THE WORLD GOOD ROADS, A RELATIVELY FAIR SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT, AND MOST IMPORTANT, PEACE, WHAT WAS CALLED THE PAX-ROMANIA.

* FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY, PEOPLE COULD TRAVEL WITH RELATIVE EASE ALMOST ANYWHERE IN THE EMPIRE – AND THE APOSTLES COULD CARRY THE GOSPEL MESSAGE TO THE UTTERMOST PARTS OF THE WORLD.

** CULTURALLY, THE WORLD WAS BECOMING MORE UNIFIED. MORE PEOPLE THAN EVER WERE BEING EDUCATED, AND MOST OF THEM KNEW GREEK OR LATIN.

*** AND EVEN THE COMMON PEOPLE USUALLY SPOKE KOINE GREEK, THE DIALECT THAT THE NEW TESTAMENT WAS WRITTEN IN.

**** SPIRITUALLY, THE WORLD WAS DIVERSE, BUT OPEN. GREEK AND ROMAN POLYTHEISM WERE GRADUALLY BEING REPLACED BY RATIONAL AND SECULAR PHILOSOPHIES OR BY EMPEROR WORSHIP.

***** AMONG THE JEWS, A RENEWED INTEREST IN THE SCRIPTURES WAS LEADING TO REVIVAL ON THE ONE HAND, TYPIFIED BY THE MINISTRY OF JOHN THE BAPTIST, AND A STRONG PHARISAIC MOVEMENT ON THE OTHER.

- SO CHRIST COULD NOT HAVE ARRIVED ON THE SCENE AT A MORE OPPORTUNE TIME. IT WAS THE PERFECT TIME, SOVEREIGNLY DETERMINED BY GOD – “THE FULLNESS OF THE TIME.”

- AND FOLKS, CHRIST’S BIRTH AT BETHLEHEM WAS NOT AN ACCIDENT, IT WAS AN APPOINTMENT! SO JESUS CAME IN THE “FULLNESS OF THE TIME.”

2. BUT MOVING ON NOTICE, THAT IN THE FULLNESS OF TIME GOD SENT FORTH HIS SON, AND TO ME THAT SHORT PHRASE SHOWS THE MAGNITUDE OF GOD’S LOVE FOR PEOPLE.

* I MEAN GOD BY AN ACTION OF HIS SOVEREIGN WILL SENT HIS SON INTO A SINFUL WORLD, AND THAT WAS THE ULTIMATE ACT OF LOVE. GOD’S LOVE WAS AN ACTION.

** AND THAT’S WHY TO ME CHRISTMAS IS JOHN 3:16. (READ). CHRISTMAS IS ROMANS 5:8, I JOHN 4:9&10 (READ THEM).

3. AND BELOVED LET US NEVER FORGET THAT TRUE LOVE IS AN ACTION NOT AN EMOTION. IT IS A VERB AND NOT AN ADJECTIVE. TALK IS CHEAP AND ACTIONS ALWAYS SPEAK LOUDER THAN OUR WORDS, I JOHN 3:18.

* SO GOD IN HIS LOVE SENT FORTH HIS SON, THE GREATEST DISPLAY OF LOVE EVER IN THE UNIVERSE.

** BUT LAST OF ALL NOTICE TWO PHRASES IN V. 4 AT THE END, “BORN OF A WOMAN” AND “BORN UNDER THE LAW.”

4. AND FIRST OF ALL THE PHRASE “BORN OF A WOMAN” TRANSLATED “MADE OF A WOMAN” IN THE KJV.

* AND THIS STATEMENT LIT. MEANS THAT JESUS WAS FULLY MAN, BORN OF A WOMAN LIKE ALL OTHER MEN, YET HE WAS FULLY GOD BECAUSE HE HAD NO HUMAN FATHER, BORN OF A VIRGIN, MATTHEW 1:18, 1:23.

** AND BELOVED, TO BE THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD, JESUS HAD TO BE FULLY GOD IN ORDER FOR HIS SACRIFICE TO HAVE THE INFINITE WORTH NECESSARY TO ATONE FOR THE SIN OF HIS PEOPLE.

** BUT HE ALSO HAD TO BE FULLY MAN IN ORDER TO REPRESENT MANKIND AND TAKE THE PENALTY OF SIN UPON HIMSELF IN MAN’S BEHALF, HE HAD TO BE “BORN OF A WOMAN.”

- ONE MAN I WAS READING STATED THIS: “HE HAD TO BE GOD TO HAVE THE POWER OF THE SAVIOR, AND HE HAD TO BE MAN TO HAVE THE POSITION OF A SUBSTITUTE.” SO HE WAS BORN OF A WOMAN.

5. BUT NOT ONLY WAS HE BORN OF A WOMAN, HE WAS BORN UNDER THE LAW. AND THE POINT OF THIS PHRASE IS, LIKE EVERY OTHER MAN, JESUS WAS BORN UNDER THE LAW.

* LIKE EVERY OTHER JEW, HE WAS UNDER OBLIGATION TO OBEY AND BE JUDGED BY CONFORMITY TO GOD’S WRITTEN LAW IN THE O.T.

** BUT UNLIKE ANY OTHER JEW, HE SATISFIED THE REQUIREMENTS OF THAT LAW BY LIVING IN PERFECT OBEDIENCE TO IT.

*** FOR YOU SEE, JESUS NEVER SINNED. HE WAS THE ONLY INDIVIDUAL WHO WALKED ON THIS EARTH WHO HAD NEVER SINNED, READ I PETER 2:22, HEBREWS 4:15, II CORINTHIANS 5:21.

**** I JOHN 3:5 SAYS “AND YE KNOW THAT HE WAS MANIFESTED TO TAKE AWAY OUR SINS, AND IN HIM IS NO SIN.”

6. SO JESUS WAS BORN UNDER THE LAW, KEPT THE LAW AND FULFILLED IT, MATTHEW 5:17.

* NOW WHY DID HE DO THIS, WELL THE ANSWER IS GIVEN IN V. 5 IN OUR SECOND AND LAST POINT TODAY, THE PURPOSE OF HIS INCARNATION. LOOK AT V. 5 PLEASE.

II. THE PURPOSE OF HIS INCARNATION, (READ V. 5)

A. NOW THE PURPOSE OF THE INCARNATION IS TWO-FOLD. NO. 1 TO REDEEM THEM THAT WERE UNDER THE LAW.

* AND THE IDEA HERE IS BECAUSE JESUS LIVED IN PERFECT OBEDIENCE, HE IS ABLE TO REDEEM MEN WHO WERE UNDER THE LAW, BUT NOT OBEDIENT TO IT.

* AND HOW MANY PEOPLE, JEW OR GENTILE, HAVE BEEN TOTALLY OBEDIENT TO THE LAW? THE ANSWER IS NO ONE, JAMES 2:10, ECCLESIASTES 7:20, ROMANS 3:10&23, ROMANS 3:20, GALATIANS 2:21.

** SO ALL OF US ARE LAWBREAKERS, WHICH LEADS ME TO ASK A QUESTION. WHAT IS THE CURSE OF THE LAW? WELL, IT IS DEATH. THE CURSE OF THE LAW IS DAMNATION.

*** BUT CHRIST CAME TO REDEEM THEM THAT WERE UNDER THE LAW, UNDER THAT CURSE, LIT. SINNERS, WHICH ALL OF US ARE LUMPED INTO THAT CATEGORY. AND BECAUSE ALL OF US ARE SINNERS, WE NEED TO BE REDEEMED OR WE WILL BE DAMNED.

1. NOW NOTE THAT THE WORD “REDEEM” RIGHT HERE LIT. MEANS TO BUY OUT OR BUY BACK, TO SET FREE BY PAYING A PRICE AND WAS USED OF SLAVES IN THE 1ST CENTURY.

* AND BY THE WAY, ONE ESTIMATE IS THERE WERE 6 MILLION IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE, A CLEAR OBJECT LESSON, AND IT WAS USED OF SLAVES WHOSE FREEDOM WAS PURCHASED.

* IN OTHER WORDS THROUGH PAYMENT OF THE REQUIRED PRICE, SLAVES WERE REDEEMED AND BECAME FREE MEN.

** AND LIKEWISE WE AS BELIEVERS WERE SLAVES TO SIN AND JESUS BOUGHT US OUT OF THAT SLAVERY TO FREE US FROM THE CURSE OF SIN. HE DID WHAT WE COULD NOT DO FOR OURSELVES.

*** HE RANSOMED HIS PEOPLE, HE BOUGHT US OUT OF THE SLAVE MARKET OF SIN. WE WERE SLAVES. MATTHEW 20:28, I PETER 1:18-19, EPHESIANS 1:7.

**** BUT NOT ONLY DID HE FREE US, HE ALSO ADOPTED US AS SONS, THE SECOND PURPOSE OF THE INCARNATION. AND THE WORD “ADOPTION” RIGHT HERE REFERS TO A MAN’S GIVING THE STATUS OF SONSHIP TO SOMEONE WHO IS NOT HIS NATURAL CHILD.

2. AND MEN AND WOMEN ARE NOT NATURALLY THE CHILDREN OF GOD, JOHN 8:44, ROMANS 5:6. AND THE ENEMIES OF GOD, ROMANS 5:10.

* AND IN LIGHT OF THOSE TRUTHS, WE CAN BECOME GOD’S SONS ONLY BY DIVINE ADOPTION. AND THAT TAKES PLACE BY REPENTANCE OF OUR SINS AND RECEIVING JESUS CHRIST AS OUR LORD AND SAVIOR AND FOLLOWING HIM, JOHN 1:12&13.

** AND LET ME ADD AN INTERESTING FOOTNOTE RIGHT HERE, IN THE ROMAN WORLD ADOPTION WAS AN HONORED CUSTOM THAT GAVE SPECIAL DIGNITY AND FAMILY MEMBERSHIP TO THOSE WHO WERE NOT BORN INTO A FAMILY.

*** AND OFTEN IN THAT DAY A WEALTHY CHILDLESS MAN WOULD ADOPT A YOUNG SLAVE, WHO WOULD TRADE HIS SLAVERY FOR SONSHIP, WITH ALL THE PRIVILEGES OF SONSHIP. AND HE WOULD RECEIVE THE ADOPTION OF SONS.

AND IN CLOSING AS I TRY TO WRAP IT ALL UP: (1) THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT GOD DOES FOR US WHEN WE REPENT AND RECEIVE HIS SON AND FOLLOW HIM, HE REDEEMS US FROM THE SLAVERY OF SIN AND ADOPTS US INTO HIS FAMILY AND WE BECOME SONS.

* AND FOLKS ALL OF THIS IS POSSIBLE BECAUSE WHEN THE FULLNESS OF TIME CAME GOD SENT FORTH HIS SON BORN OF A WOMAN, BORN UNDER THE LAW.

(2) FOLKS, TO SUM IT UP, ON THAT VERY FIRST CHRISTMAS, THERE WAS A FAREWELL GOING ON IN HEAVEN. THE SON SAID GOOD-BYE TO THE FATHER, AND THE CONVERSATION IS RECORDED IN HEBREWS 10:4-10.

* HEBREWS 10:4-10 – FOR IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR THE BLOOD OF BULLS AND GOATS TO TAKE AWAY SINS.

V. 5 – THEREFORE, WHEN HE COMES INTO THE WORLD, HE SAYS, “SACRIFICE AND OFFERING YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED BUT A BODY YOU HAVE PREPARED FOR ME;

V. 6 – IN WHOLE BURNT OFFERINGS AND SACRIFICES FOR SIN YOU HAVE TAKEN NO PLEASURE.”

V. 7 – THEN I SAID, “BEHOLD, I HAVE COME (IN THE SCROLL OF THE BOOK IT IS WRITTEN OF ME) TO DO YOUR WILL, O GOD.”

V. 8 – AFTER SAYING ABOVE, “SACRIFICES AND OFFERINGS AND WHOLE BURNT OFFERINGS AND SACRIFICES FOR SIN YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED, NOT HAVE YOU TAKEN PLEASURE IN THEM” (WHICH ARE OFFERED ACCORDING TO THE LAW),

V. 9 – THEN HE SAID, “BEHOLD, I HAVE COME TO DO YOUR WILL.” HE TAKES AWAY THE FIRST IN ORDER TO ESTABLISH THE SECOND.

V. 10 – BY THIS WILL WE HAVE BEEN SANCTIFIED THROUGH THE OFFERING OF THE BODY OF JESUS CHRIST ONCE FOR ALL.

** NOW IN THIS PASSAGE, JESUS SAID TO HIS FATHER, I REALIZE THAT YOU HAVE NOT BEEN SATISFIED WITH THE BLOOD OF ANIMALS, SO YOU HAVE PREPARED A BODY FOR ME, THAT I MIGHT GO INTO THE WORLD AND BE THE FINAL AND ULTIMATE SACRIFICE. I WILL DO IT BECAUSE I COME, AS IT IS WRITTEN IN THE O.T., TO DO THY WILL.

*** AND THIS WAS NOT AN AFTER THOUGHT BUT THE PLAN OF GOD BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD – BUT THE CARRYING IT OUT HERE IN HEBREWS 10.

**** AND SO JESUS CHRIST BID FAREWELL TO HIS FATHER AND BEGAN A JOURNEY THAT WAS TO END 33 YEARS LATER ON A CROSS, THROUGH A RESURRECTION, TO BE GLORIFIED, EXALTED, AND RESTORED BACK INTO HEAVEN TO THE GLORY THAT HE KNEW BEFORE HE CAME.

(3) SO, THE 2’D PERSON OF THE TRINITY CAME TO EARTH, AND ON THIS DAY TODAY WE CELEBRATE HIS BIRTH, HIS INCARNATION, THIS EVENT AND WHY DID HE COME? VERSE 5 OF GALATIANS 4 – READ IT.

* AND LET ME SAY THIS TODAY, YOU CANNOT TRULY CELEBRATE HIS BIRTH UNLESS YOU KNOW HIM AS YOUR LORD AND SAVIOR.

** AND TO ME THE IRONY OF CHRISTMAS IS THAT MANY INDIVIDUALS THINK THEY KNOW THE ONE WE’RE CELEBRATING BUT DON’T THEY DON’T KNOW THE ONE WE’RE HONORING. THEY’VE COME TO A BIRTHDAY PARTY AND DON’T KNOW THE HONORED GUEST.

*** IT’S PARTY TIME. AND BELOVED THIS IS A CHRISTIAN HOLIDAY AND NO PEACE ON EARTH UNTIL THERE IS PEACE INSIDE BECAUSE OF OUR WAR WITH GOD.

**** AND IF YOU DON’T KNOW HIM LET ME CALL YOU TO REPENT OF YOUR SINS AND RECEIVE HIM SO THAT HE WILL REDEEM YOU TODAY AND BECOME A PART OF HIS FAMILY.

***** BELIEVER: LET US CELEBRATE THE EVENT AND WORSHIP HIM. THIS EVENT SHOULD BRING US MUCH JOY AND THANKSGIVING. COME LET US ADORE HIM AND TELL OTHERS ABOUT HIM. OH, THE WONDER OF IT ALL!!

****** CHRISTMAS IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO EXALT JESUS CHRIST. LET US TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE OPPORTUNITIES WE HAVE.