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December 14, 2021 7:00 am
The fulfilled prophecies of the birth of Christ.
When I give you five things that shape your affections that shape your thinking. The frame your approach to life that frame the way that you look forward to eternity. What does this foretold birth mean for you today.
Welcome to the truth that with Don green founding pastor of truth Community Church in Cincinnati, Ohio hi, I'm Bill Wright were continuing our series. The most blessed birth part two of a message titled a foretold birth last time Don began tying together the offense of Christmas with the Old Testament prophecies that preceded them.
He introduced us to both the making of prophecies and the meaning of the he also gave us the first of five practical applications we are to remember the cross when we think of the manger. He came for that ultimate purpose to save his people on today's broadcast Don will present the final four points have your Bible handy and let's join our teacher now in the truthful you contemplate and remember the birth of Christ.
Number one. Remember the cross when you remember the manger. Remember that you don't read this story in isolation but you contemplated, and in light of the entire context of the revelation of God and specifically the whole purpose for which Christ came as you remember the manger. You immediately make an inseparable connection in your mind for the rest of your life to come, that you remember the cross at the same time because as Peter points out is that foretold birth that led to a predetermined crucifixion for sinners just like you look at first Peter chapter 2 for example, verse 24 Peter and said these. The prophets prophesied of the coming of Christ in his sufferings and he gives us interpretation of what that means. Verse 24.
Speaking of Christ. He says 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. Chapter 3 verse 18 Christ also died for sins. Verse 18 I hear you turn your pages I'll give you a moment. Chapter 3 verse 18 Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that he might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit step back again. Beloved, and remember the context of everything were talking about here and apply these verses in that context, here we are, will blessing God for the greatness of the salvation that he is sent. Salvation is a word that means deliverance for you to be saved means that you have been delivered and from what have you been delivered. You've been delivered from sin you been delivered from death you been delivered from judgment that was upon you and the wrath of God abiding upon you and your unsaved condition. There you were apart from Christ.
Dad in sin utterly unable to do anything to save yourself and in the whole context of of the work of Christ. What happened Christ came for you.
Christ came as a gracious gift from God and born in the manger with a perfect intention to go to the cross in order to bear your sins in his body in order to give his righteous life on behalf of your unrighteous life so that you might be cleansed from sin so that he, in the words of the Scripture that we just read might bring you to God, that you who were not only a sinner but a Gentile center alien and foreign to any of the promises of God that he made to his people, the Christ would reach out as it were out of the penalty of his righteousness out of the belly of his goodness out of the realm of his perfect holiness would reach out beyond that to you who were far off and say I will save you and I will bring you to God. You remember the cross when you remember the manger. Christ came to the manger so he could be crucified and beloved those of you that are in Christ today you are the eternal beneficiary that predetermined plan that was prophesied through the centuries you are on the receiving end of stupendous unspeakable grace. That's what we remember when we remember the manger. We remember the cross and the salvation the Christ came to achieve. Secondly, what can we say I wanted to put the cross front and center on that. Secondly, what can we say the meaning of the prophecy is for you today in your 21st century shoes, treasure the truth when you remember the manger treasured the truth when you remember the manger go back to first Peter chapter 1 first Peter chapter 1 there so much.
In Scripture that would humble the human heart that receives it with faith that understands what is being said to be in the presence of a holy God to remember the love of Christ is immensely humbling. It it it snaps the it snaps the rod of human pride and and just makes us bow down in gratitude and fear and humility before the greatness of God or something that you can add to that on a somewhat human level. You might say.
As we look at verse 10 again as to the salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace would come to you made careful search is an inquiry, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. Pause there for second and realize what this is saying about the prophets, God spoke through them and their prophecies are recorded in Scripture for us to study even to this day, and they knew they were conscious that they had received a word from the Lord. But in their condition prior to the cross. They did not have a full understanding of everything that it meant they they gave their prophecies and then they gave themselves over to studying the word that the Lord had given them trying to understand peering into the future with their own human minds, seeking to understand the sufferings of Christ and the glories were going to follow in these godly men. These chosen instruments of God had this word that they knew was so valuable and that they wanted to understand and so they applied themselves to it, but there were things were a little beyond their grasp a little bit beyond their ability to see before the cross. And so what did God show to them in verse 12. What did God make known to them in the course of their ministry as they had as they had a hunger to know what it meant all God. What does this mean you're speaking of a Christ is going to suffer and who's going to have glory, but God. What does it mean there's something more here than what I can grasp verse 12 it was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preach the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven things into which angels long to look beloved, those great men of God. The prophets who suffered for his name, who received the word of God, who recorded it.
Isaiah tradition tells us sawn in half. Jeremiah rejected throughout decades of ministry of the prophets to numerous to mention these great noble men of God were given a word that they wanted to know even as they suffered in the service to Yahweh as they search that out. Scripture says it was shown to them that they were servants of the future generation servants to you now on the side of the cross and the new covenant era servants to you that you would have the benefit of the their labors.
What is that due well with stucco a step back. We step back and we first of all, we thank God that we have the gospel we thank God that he has sent the Spirit and has given us understanding that we might know him who is true and wonders, is true and that we belong to him is true to his son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.
First John 520 is where I'm drawing upon their and we thank God for that.
And yet we take a glance back and we realize this beloved, we realize that better men than us wanted to know the things that are been given to us and they were told at the time you're serving a future generation, and now we realize while I'm a part of that future generation III received the benefit of the labors of men who went 3000 years before me and what is that do what should it do in your heart.
Beloved it should make you treasure the truth is what it should do truth it's from God intrinsically valuable.
The truth of Christ, who is infinitely worthy of our praise and is part of that almost subsidiary to do that to realize that the men who gave it to us wanted to know it was withheld from them and now we have it and what do we do we say, as it were.
We say Lord were unworthy servants and we kiss that word because we realize how precious its value is in part measured by the men who wanted to know and they said it's for someone else to come in here we are on the receiving end of it.
That should make you treasure the truth because beloved, you have a position of privilege that great men of God wanted to have and it was withheld. Here you are. 21st century in a comfortable room in the truth, it's been given to you by God.
The salvation of which the prophets spoke has been delivered to you and now you have so we do what we love it, proclaim it from a pulpit proclaim it in our lives to those who don't know, as part of the natural righteous gratitude that should come from being in a position to be able to treasure the truth when you remember what you do you sanctify your heart when you remember the manger look at first Peter chapter 1 verse 13 that great bridge word that great transition word that takes you from what has just been said to what you should now think as a result.
As a result of the prophets who made prophecy and they were serving you, not themselves. Verse 13.
Therefore, here's what you do with that verse 13 says, therefore, in light of the prophets, in light of the gospel in light of this great salvation. Therefore, prepare your minds for action. Keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours and your ignorance but like the holy one who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior because it is written, you shall be holy, for I am holy. What you do with the manger.
How do you respond to it. Those of you who trifle in sin and neglect. The word of God and neglect the salvation that you claim to own for yourself beloved. What you do is you sanctify your heart and the greatness of the prophesied birth being fulfilled in the truth and significance of it having been given to you in this New Testament era you say all hello, my life therefore, is to be devoted to a search after holiness, after a commitment to holiness. The reflect something of the holiness of the God who saved me. I cannot live for this world, my life cannot be centered on the affections and things of this passing temporal age.
I've been saved for a greater purpose. I've been saved to live for the one who is holy and therefore I sanctify my heart I set aside I repent. I reject the earthly priorities of fame and fortune. I reject the earthly the earthly temptations of lust and pride.
I say that is not why I exist. I rejected all you say to yourself, I'm going to sanctify my mind and without looking back, I'm going to set my affections going forward that my life would be somehow a mirror of the holiness of the one who saved me.
You sanctify your heart when you remember the manger, because Christ came, in order to bring you salvation from a holy God. If you've received that salvation then you say there's nothing else for me to do but to give back as as God gave his son for me. All I can rightly do is give my life back to him that he would be the preeminent king of my heart that he would have the preeminent claim on my affections, and whether this life brings me riches or poverty, whether it brings me joy or sorrow, whether it brings me a great company of friends or whether I live in isolation. My heart will belong to this God who manifested himself in a manger, sanctify your heart in that way. Fourthly, what you do. What's the meaning of this prophecy for you. Fourthly you fear God when you remember the manger you fear God when you remember the manger. This foretold birth prompt send you a reverent fear. A reverent fear.
Look at verse 17. You see how all of this is just flowing naturally from the statement of the blessing of God on salvation, the remembrance of how the prophets brought it and set the stage for all of the stress just flows. All of these things just flow over 17. If you address as father, the one who impartially judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves in fear. During the time of your stay on earth knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold, from your feudal way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.
Verse 20 hearing here and can you see it again, for he was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you for your sake. Beloved, he appeared for your sake, according to a predetermined plan of God for your sake. Precious blood was spilt.
You can't have a casual reaction to that. This is not a matter of white indifference. This is not something that you hear and say okay now it's time to watch television. Now it now all think about you know and know this stops you in your tracks. This is a showstopper for life to realize these things, you know, my friends, when we contemplate these things. We realize that we are standing on the knife's edge between time and eternity, the life that is in the life that is to come. We realize we brought into around the shows us that our earthly lives are part of a far greater plan than what we usually think about and it brings us to want to repent of the trivial way that we treat Christ the trivial way that we give our affections to him and Peter wakes us from all of that and says there should be a sense of fear with which you live your life, what kind of fear we talking about simply this, a whole hearted life of humble worship in response to the great salvation that God is brought to you the gospel comes to you and places a preeminent claim on your deepest affections and loyalties and says you must give your life to Christ is the only appropriate way to respond to this person. There's no other option. The day is coming where you give an account for what you've done with the gospel. There's a final thing that you do we go out on an extremely high note.
You might say. What do you do what's the meaning of these prophecies.
You remember the cross you treasure the truth, you sanctify your heart you fear God when you remember the manger.
Finally, number five, you rejoice when you remember the manger was saying earlier joy to the world, the Lord is come why joy wide gladness wide to lie why this superintending and super rounding gladness in response to these things. Why the why the joy that Christ was born in Bethlehem, beloved, beloved your hope was born into that manger, your peace with God was born into that manger.
Your salvation was born into that manger your greatest treasure in life and eternity was born in that manger. Look at verses 20 and 21 again, for he was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but as appeared in these last times for the sake of you for your sake, for your benefit to help you to provide for you to give to you. This is why he came, who threw him. Verse 21 are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory so that for this purpose.
Your faith and hope are in God. All of a sudden all of the tragedies of life. All of the sorrows sends the broken relationships. The lost friendships. They the coming and going and reversals of fortune, all of it is put into a context and says it all diminishes insignificance realizing that my Hope you say to yourself, my faith, my confidence what I am living for is resting in God, never to be taken away from me. A salvation has been given to you. That includes an inheritance that you have yet to enter into and the joy of being in heaven the majesty of seeing the face of Christ. The certainty that the grave holds no power over you that your sins will never be called into account against you by a holy God. You'll never do that because of what Christ has done for you.
All of that. Realizing that this meager life is going to yield into glories far beyond your hope, far beyond what you could ask or think of all beloved. That's reason to rejoice, reason to be glad to realize that you unworthy have been saved by Christ worthy given an inheritance far beyond anything that you could imagine far greater than Tonga word could ever describe and that belongs to you in the Christ who began the work in you at a point in time in your life path is certainly going to perfect until the day of his coming the day when you enter into heaven. That's reason to rejoice. Your hope and trust are in him. Beloved is it possible for some in here today, that all of this discussion of truth has awakened you to the reality that you are not in the truth that these affections are for into your heart that you're still dead in your sin, take this opportunity to come to Christ. Christ came in a manger. Christ is coming again in the clouds with great glory.
Today my unsaved friend comes to you through the proclamation of the word and invite you to come to him for salvation. These great glories could belong to you come to me. He says come to me and find eternal life forgiveness of your sin.
Christ reported a thousand times, but today it makes sense today. The light has come. That's an indication that the spirit is awakened.
Your heart come to Christ as pastor Don Greene has taught us the past couple of days when thinking of the manger. We are to remember the cross treasure the truth sanctify our hearts fear God and then rejoice. Don will have more of our series, the most blessed birth. Next time you're on the truth, pulpit, be with us, then right now though Don's back in studio with some closing words will hello my friend. I want to thank you for listening to the truth pulpit.
Thank you for being a student of God's word. You are the reason that we do these things we want to bring God's word to you in a way that makes it alive and applicable to you and brings you into a deeper knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ you know if you benefited from this broadcast.
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Thanks Don and Fred remember to visit the truth.
Pulpit.com to learn more about this ministry that's the truth. Pulpit.com. Thanks for listening. I bill right will see you next time.
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