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For tonight, this is about the Christmas story. I'm going to read from Luke chapter 2. Familiar passage to many of you, I'm sure this is what it says here. Luke chapter 2, verses 1 to 14. And it came to pass in those days that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria. And all went to be taxed, everyone into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be taxed with Mary, his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was that while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field to keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them. And the glory of the Lord shone round about them and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy, which shall be for all people. For unto you was born this day in the city of David a savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you. You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace, good will toward man. Let's pray together. Father in heaven, we just thank you for this night. We can celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, your grand entrance into our world to save us from our sins. And Lord, for those who already know you, what a great time of celebration. But I pray also for those who are here tonight or watching online, who don't know you in a personal way. I ask, Lord, that by the time the service concludes that many will come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. For this is all about you, Lord, and we just want to glorify you here. So we thank you and we praise you together in Jesus name. And everybody said amen. Well, 18 years ago, the Washington Post conducted an experiment with the help of Joshua Bell. Now, Joshua Bell is probably considered the greatest violin virtuoso of our time. And so they recruited Joshua Bell. It Was a chilly January morning in Washington D.C. and Joshua Bell donned a pair of blue jeans and threw on a Nats baseball cap. And he took his three and a half million dollar Stradivarius violin, made in 1713, down to the L' Enfant Plaza Metro station. During morning rush hour, he positioned himself on the inside of the metro station, opened his violin case and laid it at his feet. The purpose of the experiment was twofold. As Joshua Bell began to play Bach and Schubert, the questions were, number one, would people stop long enough to enjoy the music? And in that same regard, would they recognize they were in the presence of someone pretty great with some pretty amazing talent? And number two, how much money would they throw into his violin case as they went by, considering that this guy commands hundreds of dollars per ticket at his concerts? Well, the Results were after 43 minutes, about 1100 people had passed by Joshua Bell and only 7 stopped to listen to the music. 27 had thrown some money into his violin case totaling a whopping $32.17. But the vast majority, 1100 people just breezed right past him, hurried, not even looking at him, not stopping to listen to the music, just all in a rush to go where they were going, completely oblivious to the fact that they were in the presence of someone pretty great with pretty amazing talent. That story illustrates for me the way a lot of people react to the Christmas story. Well, for some people, they don't even know the true meaning of Christmas. And for others, they kind of know the meaning, but they are so busy doing all the Christmas things, they just breeze right past the greatest story ever told. So let me summarize it for you. The Christmas message is about the fact that God so loved us that he left the glory of heaven and he stepped into our world through the womb of a young virgin named Mary, where God wrapped himself in humanity. And Jesus Christ was born in a rather, at that time, obscure village called Bethlehem in Israel where Jesus was born for us in order to grow up to die for us on a cross to save us from our sins. That's really the Christmas message. In summary, it's God's grand entrance into the world to save us, to rescue us from this world. And we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Now when you think about that first Christmas story, there are both natural and supernatural elements to that story. There's a natural element, of course, this is a real baby being born to a real young woman in a real obscure town on a real appointed day, without of course, the advances and the conveniences of Modern medicine. Remember, Mary is giving birth at a time when there's no sterile birthing in. There are no fetal monitors, there's no epidurals, no ice chips for her, no doctor. This is back in the day when women had a baby by hugging a tree or chewing down at a stick, Right? And I don't mean to say, ladies, that you have it easy today. But anyway, back to our story. And so, you know, as we just read there, Bethlehem is crowded with people. There's no room for Joseph and Mary in the end because, well, there are many people who are there for the same reason they are there. The Roman government has issued an edict that all the world should be taxed. All the known Roman Empire at that time, which included Israel. And so every citizen had to report to the hometown of their ancestors in order to be counted in a census. And Joseph and Mary were both descendants of King David. David had been born in Bethlehem, so they had to go to Bethlehem to register for the census, but so did a lot of other people. That's why it was so crowded that there was no room for them in the inn by the time they had arrived. And thus Joseph and Mary ended up spending the night in a stable, or probably more likely a cave of some sort. Were there animals there? The Bible doesn't say, but we can assume perhaps because when Jesus is born, they lay him in a manger, and a manger was an animal feeding trough. But this was a natural birth. This was a natural event in that sense, like millions of other people are born, so was Jesus born. But the story also, of course, has supernatural elements. You can't talk about the first Christmas without acknowledging that there are some miraculous supernatural things that happened, the first of which is the very conception of Jesus. Remember, Jesus was not the biological son of Joseph and Mary in the sense that Joseph was his father, because they had had no union at that time. Jesus was not the biological son of Joseph, he was the divine son of God. Because the Bible says that the Holy Spirit came upon Mary as a virgin and by the power of the Holy Spirit, implanted within her the seed of God, such that when she delivered, she gave birth to no ordinary child. This was God in flesh. And so that's a supernatural conception as well as the announcement, the announcement of the birth of Jesus was a supernatural event. We, we just read about it where angels come to announce to the shepherds that Jesus is born. That's a supernatural moment. I don't know about you, but I bet you at your kid's gender reveal you didn't have angels showing up. As fancy as it was for you to shoot off blue or pink confetti from a cannon, ain't no angels showing up there for your birth announcement. Well, in Jesus case there were angels, there was a single angel who shows up. And then the Bible says a multitude of the heavenly host gathered there. And they declare in verse 14 of Luke 2, Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will to men. And so there's this spectacular supernatural aspect of the first Christmas, too. Now, when that first angel showed up before he was accompanied by the multitude of angels, one single angel appears to these shepherds and says, I'll Repeat again verses 10 and 11 of Luke 2. Fear not. For behold, I bring you good news of great joy, which shall be for all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a savior, which is Christ the Lord. I want to take just a few minutes to talk about the four two letter statements that the angel makes to the shepherds. Number one, fear not. Number two, good news. Number three, great joy. Number four, all people. Fear not. Good news. Great joy. All people. The first thing the angel says to them is, fear not. Now for good reason, because look, the Bible story says to us that the shepherds were tending their sheep at night. You have an angelic creature showing up unannounced, glowing in the night sky, you're going to be terrified. And you have to remember that angels, the way the Bible describes them, are mighty and majestic and powerful creatures of God. Okay? Don't think angels like little chubby babies on clouds playing harps, all right? Think instead. Think more like Dwayne the Rock Johnson with wings and a sword, all right? Showing up there mighty and majestic, glowing in the night sky, you're going to be terrified too. So the angel says to the shepherds, don't be afraid, boys. Fear not. But I love those two words for us today too, because I think that message is just as important for us to hear. Also, God is not the author of fear. Some of you have been dealing with some fear in your life. But the Bible says in First John 4:18 that perfect love drives out fear. And in First John 4. 8 it says, God is love. So you put those things together. If perfect love drives out fear and God is love, it means that the more I have of God, the less I have of fear. Fear not. It's an important message for us to hear today, too. How many of you show of hands, how many of you at some point in your life, at least Once have seen the Charlie Brown Christmas Special. Let me see your hands. Charlie Brown Christmas Special. All right. I saw it when I was a kid. My kids have seen it. Their kids now are watching it. It's been around. It debuted in 1965 on CBS television. Now, for those of you who are familiar with the Peanuts characters, when you think of Linus, what's the one thing that Linus is known for? His blanket. He carries around this little security blanket. What you may not know is throughout all the Peanuts series, he's carrying around that blanket. And all the other kids are always trying to get the blanket from him, but he never lets it go. Except one time. The scene is the Charlie Brown Christmas Special when Linus walks up on stage to read the real Christmas story from Luke, chapter two. Same verses I read earlier. And when Linus gets to verse 10, when the angel says, fear, fear not, he drops his blanket. Now you're going to go home and watch it to make sure what I'm saying is true, aren't you? It's true. And Charles Schulz, the writer, did a marvelous thing, though it was ever so subtle. He was communicating the message that Linus, like all of us, can let go of fear and insecurity. When you believe the story, when you believe the message that Jesus is the prince of peace and you trust him, you can let go of your fears and insecurities. So the angel says, fear not. Second thing the angel says is good news. Behold, I bring you good news, folks. If we ever lived in a time when we needed to hear some good news, it's today. Today. I was just thinking about some of the headlines of all the bad news just in the last month. Just think, in the last four weeks, here's some headlines of some of the bad news we've all heard. Two National Guard members shot in Washington, D.C. one killed. One still fighting for his life. The Brown University murders. The MIT professor murdered. The Jews on Bondi beach in Australia murdered. Rob Reiner and his wife murdered, allegedly by their own son just a few days ago. The fiery airplane clash of Greg Biffle and his wife and kids and some of their friends, the NASCAR driver Greg Biffle. Look, everybody, there's no shortage of bad news in our world. Our phones are constantly pumping out one bad story after another. Which is why what the angel says is such good news for us to even know today. For unto you was born this day in the city of David, a savior, which is Christ the Lord. The fact that Jesus Christ came into this world to rescue us from a sinful world to rescue us from our own sinful condition so that we might trust him by faith and go to heaven when we die. That is good news that will trump any bad news of any day of the rest of your life. The good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Paul would say in First Timothy 1:15, this is a trustworthy saying that is worthy of full acceptance. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. He came into the world to save sinners like me. He came into the world to save sinners like you. This is the reason why Jesus would say in John 3:16, For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. Fear not. I bring you good news of number three, great joy. See, when you know personally this good news when you come to understand for yourself how much God loves you, that he would send His Son into the world to die on a cross for our sins. That brings great joy. That brings incredible joy to our hearts. To know the love of God and how much he wants to save us. That he would send His Son to die for us. That's joyful news. Now, the word joy is typically not a word that people use in everyday conversation. I mean, maybe more so Christians who know their Bibles, because the word joy is all throughout the Bible, but it's not an everyday word that people tend to use. Particularly just, you know, your average guy on the street. Unless your name is Joy or you like to eat Almond Joy, you know, you probably don't say the word very much. Somebody comes up to you and says, hey, how was your vacation? Like, ah, dude, full of joy, brah. Sure, full of joy. I don't think so. That's probably not the way you're going to answer. You're going to say, it was a good time, it was a fun vacation, we had a great vacation. Probably not a joyful vacation. But let me tell you why that word is so important and why it's different from happiness. Joy is much better than happiness because happiness is very circumstantial. Happiness is like the weather. It changes every day. So you're happy if you have a good day. You're not so happy if you have a bad day. And most people live in that constant roller coaster of good day, bad day, good day, bad day. And so your happiness fluctuates depending on what kind of a day you've had. But, but joy. Joy transcends every good day and bad day. I have, because please hear me. Real joy is found in Jesus. Real joy is found in Jesus. Now please hear me. That does not mean that if you have Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you will never have another bad day. But what it does mean is when you have Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you will never have another bad day without him. Because when you have Jesus, you have something, someone very constant, that brings you what The Bible actually defines joy as calm delight. It's not this superficial giddiness, it's just this, this undertone of calm delight. Because joy in Jesus means I have peace in the midst of a storm and I have hope in the midst of sorrow. And I have calm when everything's chaotic because it's in Jesus. This is why Paul would say in 2nd Corinthians 7, verse 4, this is great encouragement that in all my troubles, my joy knows no bounds. How can somebody say that in all your troubles, your joy knows no bounds? Because Paul knew Jesus. And so Paul understood that constant calm delight that comes even when he's facing troubles. This is why we sing joy to the world at Christmas time. Because it's great joy that has come into the world by virtue of the fact that Christ stepped into our world to rescue us to die for our sins. So that if we put our trust in Jesus, we can have our sins forgiven and we can know that we'll go to heaven when we die. I mean, it doesn't get any more joyful than that. But there are a lot of people in this world who really lack joy. There are a lot of people I've met over 38 years of ministry who are carrying around some pretty deep pain and sorrow and suffering. Maybe that's you tonight, or maybe someone in the row that you're seated in. A lot of people who deal with deep personal pain for a variety of reasons and they often cope quietly. A lot of people suffer in silence and you'd never know. I remember a quote I once read of Charlie Chaplin. Charlie Chaplin was a movie star back in the silent movie era. And Charlie Chaplin said this once quote, I always like walking in the rain, so no one can see that I'm crying. Probably some of you have been walking in the rain lately and you could do for some extra joy. So the angel says, fear not. I bring you good news of great joy. And the last thing is for all people. That's an important two word statement too, because please note, the angel did not simply say all this to the shepherds alone or to just the people of that day. This was good news of great joy for all people, for all time. For as many as would believe this message and receive this, that means it applies to you. You are part of all. I am part of all. And here's the reason why this is important to understand. Because as wonderful as the message is, good news of great joy for all people, that Christ came into the world to save us from our sins. The other side of the coin we have to all understand is all of us are sinners. That's what the Bible teaches. The human condition is that we are all sinners. And because we are all sinners, we all need a Savior. And thus that's why this message is for all people, because all of us need Jesus. Now, you may not think of yourself as a sinner because typically that's another Bible term, sin sinner. But the reality is that if you had an ounce of honesty about yourself, with any measure of truthfulness in self awareness, you would admit you've thought some bad things, said some bad things, done some bad things, looked at some bad things in the course of your life. And why are those things bad? Why do you get convicted about those things? Because God has given us a conscience and when we sin against him, he convicts us. So we all should recognize that we're all sinners. In fact, the default always is somebody saying, well, I'm not perfect. Well, yeah, but here's the reality. Only perfect people make it to heaven. So what does that mean for all of us? It means we won't get to heaven unless we have a personal encounter, a personal relationship with the one who is perfect, whose name is Jesus. He died on that cross for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. The Bible says in Romans 3:23, all have sinned, all of us, and fallen short of the glory of God. None of us measures up to the perfect standard of God. So we need a Savior, and his name is Jesus. All of us have sinned, but God, in His love for us has made gracious provision. He's opened heaven for us and he offers us forgiveness of sins if we would trust Jesus as our Lord and Savior. And this, by the way, is a gift. You can't earn this. We can't work our way to heaven. We can't try to perform to get God to love us. This is all a gift. And by definition, a gift is not something you earn, it is given to you. In contrast, if you have a job where you get paid a salary, your paycheck is what you earn and you Earn that because you've worked hard and you've performed well on the job. So you get paid, you get compensated for hard work. Nobody takes your paycheck home and says, hey honey, look at the gift my boss gave me. I don't think so. It's not a gift, it's what you earned. You worked hard for it and you performed well and you were compensated. But see, that's very different from salvation. We can't work our way to heaven. We can't be good enough doing good things to try to earn God's favor. And by the way, he loves us without us performing for him. Because the Bible says while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. That's how God demonstrated his love for us. He loves us. He did all the work on the cross. He just wants us to receive by faith a free gift. And by the way, the way he gives free gift of salvation. He's infinitely superior to Santa Claus, everybody. Cuz Santa Claus is a very performance driven guy. You got to perform for Santa, you don't perform for Santa, you get nothing. Right? I mean, you know that, that jolly song they play on the radio? It's like Santa Claus is coming to town. You know, it's a really clever song and it's such a catchy tune. You know why the tune is so catchy? Because the words are so dark. The words are dark. Think look, here's the words. You better watch out, you better not cry, better not pout. I'm telling you why. Santa Claus is coming to town. He's making a list, he's checking it twice. He's going to find out who's naughty or nice. Santa Claus is coming to town. He sees you when you're sleeping, which is kind of creepy. Think about that. He knows when you're awake, he knows if you've been bad or good. So be good for goodness sake. What's the implication of the song if you, if you're not a good person, no soup for you, no soup for you, no presents, no gifts, jack squat. If you're not good, you get nothing. Hey, here's the good news about Christianity, folks. Christianity is not about what we do for God. It's about what God has done for us by sending Jesus Christ on the cross to die for our sins. That's what he gave to us. That's why salvation is a free gift. Romans 6:23 says, the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God, eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. It's a free gift that He Wants you to receive. In 1943, in the middle of World War II, there was a Christmas song that came out that was made popular. First recorded by Bing Crosby, it was called I'll Be Home for Christmas. Again, it was written and released in the middle of World War II because originally that song was written as a tribute to the soldiers overseas who were separated from their families and who weren't coming home for Christmas. And here it's still played on the radio today, 82 years later. I'll be home for Christmas you can plan on me Please have snow and mistletoe and presents on the tree Christmas Eve will find me where the love light gleams I'll be home for Christmas if only in my dreams Because a lot of those boys would not come home from war. Let me tell you why that song connected so well in 1943 as much as it still connects now. Because everybody wants to belong. That song is about belonging. I'll be home for Christmas. Home is not about four bedrooms and two and a half baths. Home is about who's in the house. Because home is really about connection and warmth and love. That's what makes a home. And I don't know what kind of a home you grew up in, whether it was a broken home or a happy home. And I don't know what kind of a home you have right now, whether it's a home with laughter or a home with tears. But I know this. God wants you to come home to him. God wants you to belong to his family. And by saying that, I don't mean to join a church. You're welcome to worship here. But this is not about joining a church. This is about belonging to God's family. By trusting in what Jesus did for you, by dying on that cross, do you know that your sins are forgiven? Do you know that you'll go to heaven when you die? If you have any questions about those things, I invite you to settle that tonight. You say, well, how can I settle that? Here's how. In just a minute, I'm going to lead in a word of prayer. And when I start praying, whoever wants to receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior tonight, I'm going to ask you in a minute to make a bold decision. If you want to trust Christ as your Savior, then I invite you to get out from your seat in just a moment and to come and to stand down front here. And for everybody who's standing down here, whether it's one or a hundred people, I will lead you in a collective word of prayer. To invite Christ into your life to forgive you of your sins. So you can leave here knowing you're forgiven and knowing that on the day you die, you'll go to heaven, because this is what the Bible declares to us. This invitation is open to anyone. Now, in the previous services, I said, this is open to anybody 5 to 95 or anyone in between. And just earlier today, a lady came up to me, tears in her eyes, after the service, and she said, my dad was here today and he came to accept Jesus Christ. He's 97 years old. So I have to revive my demographics. Anyone 5 to 100, you feel free to respond to this invitation. Last service, I had two Muslim women who came forward and got saved. Jesus Christ came for all, that all might receive him as Lord and Savior. But you have to make this decision. Don't feel coerced or forced. But at the same time, please don't leave here with regrets. Why don't you come home to Jesus tonight and receive the free gift of salvation? Some of you have been running from him for a long time, and tonight's the night to come home. If you're in our overflow rooms, you're welcome to leave the room and even come now. And I want to make this easy for people to be able to slip out from the rows. Can I ask just everybody, respectfully, this is a very serious time. Please don't try to leave and beat the traffic. Can I just ask everybody to please stand where you are. Just please stand so that people who want to slip out and come down front here can make your way more easily. You come as I start to pray. Now, listen, you might. You might be thinking to yourself, why can't I just pray this prayer right where I am? And you could, okay, But Jesus died very publicly for us, and he calls us to come to him publicly. And when you do, guarantee you people will applaud in this sanctuary because we are all thrilled for you in the decision that you make to trust Jesus as your Lord and Savior. So if the Lord is tugging on your heart, you come now as I start to pray. Father, I thank you. This is your story, how you came into the world to save us from our sins. And right now I ask, Lord, that you would move in the hearts of men and women and young people, the ones that you were leading, to trust you tonight as Lord and Savior, that they would come to receive you by faith. Put it on their hearts right now, Lord, the ones that you would lead here. Yes. Applaud these folks, everybody. And we thank you for those who are coming to trust you as Lord and savior. Be glorified, Lord. Now as people are making a decision for you and we thank you in Jesus name. Come on, everybody. If the Lord is calling you, come now. Keep applauding these folks. God bless you guys. Ben's going to lead us in a song. God bless you. Come on. Come on. Forward. God bless you guys. Come on up here. God bless you guys. God bless you guys.