American Family Radio takes your Bible questions live on American Family Radio
>> Jeff Chamblee: The Bible. It's the word of God. Sharper than any two edged sword. This sacred book is living and active and contains all that's needed for life and godliness. Stay with American Family Radio for the next hour as we study God's word and take your Bible questions.
Burt Harper: Is it appropriate for Christians to celebrate Christmas universally
Welcome to Exploring the Word.
>> Alex McFarland: It's been said that many times in history a baby became a king. But only once did a king become a baby. King Jesus in the Bethlehem manger. And with that, we welcome you to today's edition of Exploring the Word. This is Alex McFarland with Burt Harper and one and all. We wish you a very, very merry, joyful Christ filled Christmas. We love Christmas, don't we, Burt?
>> Bert Harper: We do. You're talking to two fanatics for Christmas. And, we love it and thank God for it. This is a little sarcastic, but I'm going to go ahead and do it every once in a while. I get that way. I try not. They say, oh, we don't celebrate Christmas. You're not celebrating the Incarnation. Now, the way you celebrate it may be wrong and what you think of may be wrong. But to celebrate the incarnation of Jesus Christ, God becoming a man, that is something to celebrate. And you and I do it. And we do it with gusto, don't we?
>> Alex McFarland: We do. I love Christmas. I love Christmas music, I love Christmas decorations, I love the Christmas story. And we're going to talk about that. We, we have gotten the question a time or two on the program. Is it appropriate for Christians to celebrate Christmas universally? We celebrate Easter and the resurrection. But let me just say this, Bert. As I read Luke chapter two, I mean the very first Christmas, the Incarnation, God organized an angelic choir from heaven and sent them to earth to sing to the shepherds. And we'll talk about that. I, I really think biblically, yes, there is biblical sanctioning for the commem birth of our Savior.
>> Bert Harper: And those wise men brought gifts and shared it with them. Listen, yes, you can go overboard with the gifts. You can do all kinds of things that way, but I'm telling you, make much of Jesus. Just make much of Jesus at Christmas and Easter and every day. he deserves our adoration. If he is lifted up, he'll draw all men unto himself. What a time at Easter to lift up Jesus Christ. Yes, he was a baby. Yes, he became a man. Yes, he died, but he was a baby. And we need to lift him up for who he was, what he did, and where he is right now.
Alec: I was saved as a 12 year old boy at Christmas
>> Alex McFarland: Bert, do you remember growing up, you know, kids Love Christmas. And I think it's not just, you know, getting a toy at Christmas or something, but I think it's the lights and the, the rattle of wrapping paper and, you know, that endears Christmas to most children. But do you remember growing up when you began to realize what it was all? Jesus was born in the manger to live that sinless life, to go to the cross for us to suffer and die. When did you, at what age did you begin to gravitate more toward the Christ of Christmas than just the music, food and presents?
>> Bert Harper: I was saved as a 12 year old boy. God came into my life. I'm telling you, he changed my life. It wasn't because I was out committing all kinds of gross sins, but I was a fearful kid. I was one that was selfish. After I was saved at 12 years old, I can say he turned my world upside down. And part of that world was Christmas because I realized it was more than me just getting a BB gun and a bicycle, although I was proud to get those things. It was about the Lord Jesus Christ. It happened pretty early. And I got to play the part of Joseph in a Christmas play at our church.
>> Alex McFarland: Me too. Me too.
>> Bert Harper: And, those things really made a difference in my life. If you're not enjoying Christmas, start reading Luke, chapter two and Matthew, one. Read those and see what all the celebration, like you said, those angels and them coming to the shepherds and those wise men making their way from the east to come and worship him. It is a magnificent story to be celebrated, Alec.
Use your home and your family traditions as teachable moments for the Lord
>> Alex McFarland: Well, you know, it's funny what God uses in your life. And the reason I'm sharing this, Moms and dads, use your home and your family traditions as teachable moments for the things of the Lord. Because, you know, we've talked about how, you know, Francis Schaeffer said that the home is the church in miniature. And really the family is like a gospel tract to point people, especially the children, to God. But when I was in about third grade, I was trying to learn how to play the guitar. So there was a lady, and it's, an eighth of a mile from where I sit right now in Pleasant Garden, North Carolina. But there was a deer lady named Ms. Sasser, and she taught guitar lessons and she had played with Bill Monroe and some of the bluegrass people, and she was getting rather elderly. They wanted me to try to play the guitar in a church Christmas play. And I was only in about third grade and, it was a struggle, but she decided there was one that she thought I could do because it only had a couple of chords and it was in E minor. It was what Child Is this? Do you know that song?
>> Bert Harper: I do know that, yes.
>> Alex McFarland: And it wasn't too, too hard. And so she. Oh, she worked with me and worked with me, and I learned. And because I was trying to get it done and learned, I read the words, and we had this Christmas songbook. I've got it to this day. And I've often told Angie, if the house is burning down, I'm going to get two things. I'm going to get our Bible, and I'm going to get the Christmas decorations. I've got this Christmas book. And there was only one song I could play, what Child Is this? But I would go through and I would read those words and read it. And I was in, like, third grade at this point, and I just became so immersed with the, you know, Joy to the World and Hark the Herald Angels Sing and Away in a Manger and O Holy Night and Silent Night and It Came Upon a Midnight Clear and the First Noel. All those songs are so ingrained in my soul every time. Bert, it takes me back to that Christmas play in elementary school and, moms and dads. The reason I say that is, learn in the lives of your children to make the Advent year so special to your kids. Whether it's thinking about Jesus in the manger or thinking about that empty tomb on Easter or Thanksgiving or, you know, whatever it is, promotion Sunday or the 4th of July, and we pray for our country. Don't you think a lot of the great things that are very special within our family are also very teachable moments to make Christ and the Gospel special to our children?
>> Bert Harper: Gloria Gaither, Shirley Dobson, several years ago, they were talking about this, about the traditions, and, And if you can combine a family tradition with a calendar event, it has a double capacity to impress their memories for life. And I've shared it before, and I'll share it again. Our Christmas tree that we get every year, we are going to decorate it. And most of the time, the ornaments tell our family story about when salvation occurred. For one, when someone went on this mission trip, when someone, had this part of their life. And each one of those ornaments, most of the ornaments that we have, we got some that sparkle and they're just pretty. But most of the ornaments we have tell a story about a relationship that this family has with God. And we'll pass those down. And there's going to be a time when Janet and I will pass off the scene if the Lord hadn't come back. And we're going to have those ornaments to each the children, the in laws, the grandchildren, and they're going to be passed on to them and it will convey the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ that we had in him. Use those things. Alex, you said it. Well, if you can put actions with the words act out the Christmas story, you know, not just read it, but act it out. If you have children or grandchildren that are old enough and let them participate, they enjoy it, it will make a memory in their life. And, and so that's what we're talking about. We're talking about passing the faith alone. And when we do that, we're fulfilling Deuteronomy chapter six, aren't we? We're doing what God said. And so why waste the opportunity at Christmas to just find. Oh, it wasn't on December 25th. That was a pagan day. Listen, listen. A day according to what Paul did. A day is a day is a day. We take it and we celebrate what Jesus Christ has done. So we're giving our argument for celebrating Christmas very loudly, aren't we Alex?
Alex Martin: To accomplish salvation, God had to do several things
>> Alex McFarland: Well, we are. I want to give, here in this first segment, and welcome to Exploring the Word. Folks. We're going to talk about God's grace, give you some thoughts about God's grace, but I'm going to start with a verse that you may not associate with Christmas, but I think we can explain this for a second. Corinthians 12, verse 9 famously says, God's strength is made perfect in our weakness. God's strength is manifested in the context of weakness. Now folks, think about this. To accomplish salvation, the Christmas story, to send the Savior and to really achieve our redemption, here's what God had to do. Alright, now just think about this. First of all, the sin of humanity must be atoned for. The unbelief sin. And just flat out ignorance of the Hebrew nation had to be overcome. The world governments run by fallen men could not be allowed to obstruct salvation. The church had to be birthed and initiated. The Holy Spirit sent in power. Masses of believers would become engaged in the Great Commission. The physical death and spiritual judgment of 40 billion souls must be eclipsed by eternal life. The insatiable jaws of the grave must be halted. The wickedness of countless demons must be contained. And God himself would be made completely vulnerable to Satan, who would have been ready at any moment to kill God if at all possible. Eternity would hang in the balance and salvation would mean the fight of the ages between heaven and hell. Everything holy against the forces of evil. And to get all this accomplished, God sent a baby.
>> Bert Harper: Hallelujah.
>> Alex McFarland: Isn't this awesome? That to bury the grave, pay for sin and defeat Satan and save the human race. God sent a baby. What a story.
>> Bert Harper: Let me just share this. Isn't that just like God? You know, God, he says he has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, the weak things to astound the strength and the strong. And Alex, God does it, and he makes servanthood the highest place and the highest position. You know, he says, first get things right with God, clean up on the inside so it can work its way to the outside. It's right, the opposite of what man would do. And here it is for God to save the world and do that list. And as I was reading it, as you were sharing it with our audience today, what a list of how God chose to invade this world. And someone has called it on, the greatest, the greatest rescue mission in all the world. It was a rescue mission, wasn't it?
>> Alex McFarland: Well, you know, one of the reasons that I definitely believe the Christian good news rather than paganism or something, I mean, the Greek gods, there was Zeus and Hercules and, you know, in the Roman mindset, you know, God might have thrown thunderbolts from heaven and sent armies and, you know, this great cataclysmic upheaval. And to show the power of God, folks, God's powerful enough to meet all of your needs. He could save the world with a baby. The Lord is able to save you as well, my friend.
>> Bert Harper: That place, Bethlehem, long, long ago. And God brought a Virgin Mary and she brought forth a baby. That baby was Jesus. And that baby would change the world. We'll be back in just a moment.
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Exploring the Word on American Family Radio celebrates Christmas this year
>> Jeff Chamblee: Welcome back. You're listening to Exploring the Word on American Family Radio. Merry Christmas.
>> Alex McFarland: Over the hills and everywhere go.
>> Bert Harper: Amen. I. I just gotta give a shout out to Brent Creeley, our producer, who. Who put that together for us for our Christmas edition. I hope you're going in tell and go tell it, Alex. that's your calling, brother.
>> Alex McFarland: You.
>> Bert Harper: How.
You spent the last few days on the road sharing Jesus with others
Right now, at Christmas time, we want to wish everybody a merry Christmas. Your home. And you're home for a few days here, but the days you spent on the road sharing Jesus with other people in 2018, praise the Lord for that. Jan and I have been able to travel to quite a few places and share not like you do, but, what a treat it is for us to be able to do that. And because of exploring the word, it gives us a prayer base. Base. You know, a prayer cover that people pray for us. You and I hear it all the time. They'll say to you and me, we pray for you as you're doing exploring the word and as you and Alex travel and, what a joy it is to go tell it to everyone.
>> Alex McFarland: You know, everybody knows. I love music. I talk about it a lot. And, you know, the Christmas story, telling it on the mountain. you know, we were talking before the break about the paradox of all these things that were so dire and yet God sent the baby Jesus. And composers, you know, playwrights and, composers and poets have noted the beautiful paradox that. The amazing reality that God would conquer the world with a baby. There was a Polish hymn from the Reformation era. You know, we're talking 500 years ago. infant holy infant lowly for his bed A cattle stall oxen lowing little, knowing Christ the babe is Lord of all. I mean, the beautiful thing that in that manger was the God of eternity.
Let me quote another song about God's grace. Both are to be shared
Let me quote another song. And then I want to give some thoughts about God's grace. But here's one. You probably don't sing too much because the words are kind of, you know, unusual. but I bet you've seen the title in the hymn book. It's one of those. You see the title, even though you probably don't ever Sing it much. From Greenland's I Mountains. Do you remember that title?
>> Bert Harper: I, have seen the title. I don't believe we've ever sung it in any of the churches I was in, brother.
>> Alex McFarland: From India's coral strand Where Africa's sunny fountains Rolled down their golden sand it's talking about all around the world. But now listen to this. It says in that verse, can we whose souls are lighted with wisdom from on high can we to men benighted the lamp of life deny salvation O salvation the joyful sound proclaimed Till each remotest nation has heard Messiah's name Each remotest nation has heard Messiah's name I'm, See, we've got to tell this great story, and it is, the reason we get enthused about Christmas and Easter, because, all right, Christ's first coming and Christ's resurrection all point to Christ's glorious and absolutely certain return. You know, I mean, I get excited about the Incarnation because I get excited about his return. Don't you?
>> Bert Harper: Amen. Both are to be shared.
Christmas combined with missions is what Southern Baptists should focus on
Now, I want to do one thing. I'm going to go back. What's the title of that hymn? I just hear people say, man, that's something. What's the title of that hymn that you quoted there?
>> Alex McFarland: Oh, the one we just. From Greenland's Icy Mountains.
>> Bert Harper: Okay.
>> Alex McFarland: I guarantee it's in your hymn book. And it's one of those. It's just an old song from Greenland's Icy Mountains. And it's really. It's a Christmas song that's an initiative toward world missions.
>> Bert Harper: Yeah, the combination there. And that's what it should be about in Southern Baptist life. You and I are both Southern Baptists. they have the Lottie Moon Christmas offering for international missions.
>> Alex McFarland: Wonderful.
>> Bert Harper: And that is what is combined at Christmas. It is combined with missions and that song. That's what I noticed. It's Christmas combined with missions. And he said, what did the angels do? They came and shared it with the shepherds. What did the shepherds do? They went and told everybody. I mean, it is a message that needs to be shared. It is. Even the Christmas story is missional, isn't it?
>> Alex McFarland: Luke 2:15. The shepherds said, one to another, let us now go even unto Bethlehem and see this thing which has come to pass, which the Lord has made known unto us. The shepherd said, let us go. Let us go now. Let us go all the way to Bethlehem, which would have been about five or six miles. And I've been to that. That spot. I've been to Shepherd's field. And this thing, it says, which the Lord has made known unto us. Friend, if. If the Lord has made known Jesus unto you, you who have been the recipient of salvation, you have the privilege and frankly the responsibility to be a messenger of salvation. And isn't it something the very first people to hear of the birth of Jesus, the shepherds instantly had that missionary heart, didn't they?
>> Bert Harper: They did. And you're saying, here's what the shepherds did. They returned glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen as it was told them. They didn't keep it quiet. They were glorifying the Lord. So we want you to glorify the Lord, on this Christmas day, during this Christmas season, we're praying that you would make his riches known all over the world. And what an opportunity do we have. People will talk about Jesus at Christmas when they won't talk about him any other time. Amen.
Alex: God's grace is sufficient for your circumstances, Bert says
So make much of Jesus now, Alex, as we continue studying this, the victory that. That you read earlier in a baby, God did and accomplished, this. God sent a baby, and it was victorious. He wasn't defeated, although they tried to kill him, although they tried to stamp it out, although they did all those things drive him out of the country. Guess what? Victory was his, wasn't it?
>> Alex McFarland: Absolutely, absolutely. and you know what's very interesting is that the Christmas story, it really is historical reality. All right, the first thing that I want to point out is, number one, God's grace is sufficient for your circumstances. You know, in that Second Corinthians passage, with which we began, that says, God's strength is made perfect in our weakness or most perfectly demonstrated. Second Corinthians 12, 9. And, you know, at the time of Christ's birth, Israel was really, you know, occupied by Rome. They were under the. The subjugation of an occupying nation. let me say this, and I know I'm going to probably pronounce this wrong, but there was a Roman historian, and it was called, commentations Epigraphicae, and I'm probably pronouncing that incorrectly, but it's a history, from 2,000 years ago that documents that Quirinius, which is mentioned in Luke 2, Cyrenius, was, governor of Syria from 4 B.C. to 1 B.C. and so, that's just a historical verification that you know what the Bible says, very short, tenure, that Quirinius was governor of Syria, but it was during that time that there was a census and that, while Mary was carrying the baby Jesus. Joseph and Mary had to go to Bethlehem. And so what the Bible says is documented in secular history. And my point in sharing this is that God was sovereign over the circumstances. The pilgrimage to Bethlehem, the flight to Egypt, sparing Jesus from the Herodian persecution and the killing of babies. God was able to pull it all together. And, you know, think about this. the Jewish nation. In Galatians 4. 4, it says that at the fullness of time, God sent forth his son born of a woman. Okay, the Jewish nation. God's, called out people. Genesis 12. God said, I'm going to make you a great nation, Abraham. And how we love the Jewish people. But, you look at their 2000 years of history or 2000 years ago, and then prior to the birth of Christ, really, you know, 3,000 years prior to that, even, they had a mixed reputation. they had gone in and out of slavery and bondage. They had, partway occupied their land and then gotten dispersed from it. the people of the land, they knew that they had oracles of God. They had had the tabernacle, and they had had the Ark of the Covenant. But, Bert, don't you get the impression that they were really viewed with a mixture of scorn, envy, resentment, maybe even occasionally hatred?
>> Bert Harper: That is observed and seen. It's been observed all the time. At the crucifixion, they would enhance that and said, let it be upon our lives and our children. Yeah, very sad. But here it is. The circumstances that Jesus was born under were very difficult and hard. they were in Nazareth. And you remember what they said about Nazareth. Nothing good can come out of Nazareth, surely. And it had no reputation for any of the prophets. It had nothing significant ever happen in Nazareth before, but Jesus would put it on the map as we would say it today. And so the circumstances around his birth, the circumstances concerning everything about him after he was born, was difficult. And if his grace was sufficient for God's purpose in Jesus Christ being born and his life, going forth, listen, that means his grace is good and sufficient for your circumstance today. and, Alex, we got people who listen to us who are in all kinds of circumstances. Let's talk about that for a second. We have people who are incarcerated who listen to us. We have people who have come to the place where they're jobless. Listen to us. People who have gone through divorce and they did not want it, who are listening to us. We have people that are dying from a cancer. You know, all you and I get to hear from them. We talk with their friends and them themselves, and we want to say, his grace is sufficient. Now, you say, well, it's easy for you to say. I do not deny that God has blessed us beyond measure. But I am sharing with you, according to the word of God, not according to Bert Harper, his grace is sufficient. It was sufficient then, it is sufficient now, isn't it, Alex?
>> Alex McFarland: It really is. Whatever your circumstance, and if you get that phone call that turns your world upside down, just fall at the feet of Jesus and trust his grace. I mean, the most important thing in the world, and we're going to demonstrate this, I believe, but the most important thing in the world, the salvation of humanity. Christ coming, being willing to go to the cross. There's a thousand ways that could have been derailed by Satan or circumstances, and God kept it on track. And if God is big enough, powerful enough, wise enough, merciful enough to enact the salvation story, he's able to meet your needs as well. Let me say this. Not only is God's grace sufficient for our circumstances, God's grace is bigger than our past mistakes. I mean, think about this. Jesus came into a nation. The Jewish people who had spent the past 3,000 years wandering in and out of obedience, falling in and out of slavery, vacillating from obedience to unbelief. They, had perverted the religious system God had given them. And, you know, many at that time couldn't even really grasp that the birth of Jesus was the fulfillment of long cherished promises. I mean, the wise men came to Jerusalem, where is he who is born king of the Jews? And you know, both Herod and the Pharisees were like, what in the world are you talking about? Isn't that something that Christ had come and the shepherds were told of it, but the religious leaders, they didn't know it. And it was Persian astrologers from hundreds of miles away that under Daniel 2, verse 48, they had connected the dots. But here's the thing. In spite of the Jewish, unbelief belief, carnality, repentance, and then carnality again. God's grace is bigger than any and all of our past mistakes, isn't it?
>> Bert Harper: It is.
Alex: God's grace is bigger and better than our past mistakes
With that in mind, I want to read a passage that you and I have done, just not too long ago. In 2 Corinthians, chapter 4, it says, in 2 Corinthians 4, 8, 9, 10. We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed. We're perplexed, but not in despair, Persecuted but Not forsaken, struck down, but not destroyed. Always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus and the life of Jesus also may be manifest in our body. Alex. Yes, we've been knocked down, but we don't have to stay down. We've been disappointed, but we don't have to give up. All these things about God's grace is bigger and better than our, past mistakes. Isn't it amazing who God uses? When I look at the three great men in the Old Testament now, I think most people agree, they might want to debate it a little bit, but I think it's Abraham, Moses, and David. When you look at those three men, God called Abraham out. He got Moses out. He called David to be build this great kingdom. When you look at those men and see the mistakes that they made, yet God would help them and use them for his glory. Abraham would lie. He. He was a fearful man. Moses killed a man. Here he was running for his life. David, who had all kinds of issues in his own life, but yet he had a heart for God. Ah, what you just said. God's grace is bigger than, our past mistakes. If you think what your mistake is, go back and read these men about these men whom God used in changing the world. Alex, we're not just talking about changing a little bit. We're talking about change the world that they were in. And so what Grace? And that grace is sufficient, Brother, let.
Matthew 18:70 says we should forgive up to seven times
>> Alex McFarland: Me throw this out there too, because, you know, perhaps somebody's listening and you've blown it for the umpteenth time. And you wonder, could God still love you? Could God forgive me? I'm ashamed to even pray to him. You might say to yourself, but Listen, in Matthew 18, you know, they were asking Jesus, how many times should I forgive my brother? up to seven times. And Jesus said, 70 times seven. And, that's a euphemism for saying, an unlimited amount of times, or an idiom. In other words, that's a way of saying forgive as many times as they ask you to. So here's my point. If Jesus would tell us to be willing to forgive someone who's repentant, surely God himself will forgive the one who's truly repentant, because we are not more righteous than God. So if we are to forgive 70 times 7, don't be afraid to come back to the Lord to repent, because he's willing to receive and forgive and restore you as well.
>> Bert Harper: On this Christmas Day 2018, God's grace is still sufficient, sufficient in all circumstances and big enough to overcome your past mistakes. What a savior we have in Jesus Christ.
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Alex McFarland: We hope you have a great Christmas
>> Jeff Chamblee: Welcome back. You're listening to Exploring the Word on American Family Radio. Merry Christmas.
>> Bert Harper: The lame will leap, the dove will speak.
>> Alex McFarland: The praises of the lamb. Welcome back to Exploring the word. Alex McFarland, Burt Harper and oh, that great song, Mary. Did you know we, we love Christmas songs. You know, all those things from the angels to the shepherds to the, the, the manger and Bert. I'm going to say it to Santa, Claus and the Christmas tree and Jingle, Bells and Bing Crosby and It's a Wonderful Life. I love it all.
>> Bert Harper: Amen. And we hope if you want a white Christmas, we hope you have it. I've had only two in my life and I enjoyed every one of them. One of them happened when I was a 12 year old boy. Can you imagine a 12 year old boy having a white Christmas for the first time?
>> Alex McFarland: I bet you were going crazy.
>> Bert Harper: Listen, I did and you know, I told you we have a large family, you know, and so just about every. That's before the Weather Channel and everything else. And we had about 30 people snowed in at our house where we had to sleep them because they got all snowed in. And I don't remember what the gift was, but I remember that day, that night in that relationship we had. What we hope you having a great Christmas. And if it's difficult for you, for some of you, you've lost your loved one and this is the first Christmas without them. I know that would be true in our family with some people that's gone on to be of the Lord, some very important people, but I want to just tell you, just remember them. Thank God for them. But enjoy what God is doing right now. He is still changing lives, Alex. His grace. His grace is sufficient to save us even today. Amen.
>> Alex McFarland: Praise God. Praise God.
Christmas reminds us that God's grace empowers the powerless and is revealed
and so we're talking about God's grace that some facts about God's grace that we see in Christmas. We say God's gentle, powerful, really unstoppable grace. And we said God's grace is bigger than our past mistakes, which is true. Christmas reminds us that God's grace empowers the powerless and is revealed with wisdom beyond human understanding. I mean, Christmas shows the brilliance, the genius of God. I'm just going to say it. I mean, who carried the Messiah into this world? A teenage girl. Who would God use to protect the Savior from religious and political powers that wanted him dead? A young engaged Jewish couple, privately hiding out under the shame of an unplanned, curious pregnancy. Who would heaven itself appear before announcing the arrival of earth, of God to earth? The shepherds. The shepherds at that time were the lowest group on the social totem pole.
>> Bert Harper: They were outcasts.
>> Alex McFarland: They were. They were viewed with contempt. They smell bad. Nobody wanted to be with the shepherds. Nobody really wanted to be a shepherd. And yet the greatest news in human history was first shared with shepherds. Why? Think about it. Those shepherds abiding in the fields, keeping their flocks by night. They were raising and feeding and birthing lambs that would be used in temple sacrifice. The blood that would be sprinkled on the altar as a temporary covering of sin. They heard about the Lamb of God whose blood would be shed as a permanent eradication of sin. I mean, I've said this, and I say this every year, but I really mean it with all my heart. Part of the reason that I'm just endlessly fascinated with Christmas is because it is the most beautiful, most artful, most perfect story ever. And guess what, people? It's real. It happened. Isn't that amazing?
>> Bert Harper: It is. And when you consider. And the list that you gave. Whom God used a carpenter, Joseph, who was a good man. And, yet he was just there in Nazareth, living his life. Mary, a teenage girl who. An angel would appear before her and tell her that she's going to conceive. And she'd say, how is that going to be? I don't know, a man. And he said, listen, it's going to happen. The Holy Spirit is going to overshadow you, and you will conceive and Bear a son and you'll call his name, Jesus. And then the shepherds, the very outcasts that God would appear. I just want to tell you, God's grace lets him, use some very unlikely people. I mean, this is an unlikely list. This is not the list that if you were telling a story that it would be the princess from this kingdom, the prince from this kingdom, and them marrying. And then it was revealed to God that he went to the parliament at this great, great country and announced, I've brought my son into the world. No, he goes to the shepherds and he shares with them. And that's still the good news today, that he goes to the outcast. He goes. Jesus says, man, I came to bring the sick to the Savior. those of you that are well, you're well, but I came to bring the sick, those that were outcasts. That is the message of Christmas. And it is worth sharing, it's worth celebrating, it's worth living that God would claim you and say, yes, I want you. That is grace, brother.
>> Alex McFarland: Amen. Amen. Well, you remember when, God said to Israel, this is back in the Old Testament in, Deuteronomy, where it said the Lord did not set his affection on you because you were more numerous than all other people. and God didn't choose you because you were slaves in Egypt and had great power because they didn't. But God in his sovereignty, oftentimes we use the word God's providence. I mean, the whole salvation story from a human perspective might appear to be unlikely. And what we draw away from that is, look, you can trust God. God has a plan. It's a good plan. Thoughts of good, not of evil, to bring you to a teleos, a design, an expected end. That's, Jeremiah, ah, 29, 11, 13. And so God's grace empowers the powerless and is unfolded and revealed with wisdom beyond human understanding.
Why was Satan so against the birth of Jesus, the incarnation?
I want to say this number four. God's grace is stronger than all the demonic powers. Now, back in Matthew 16, verse 18, Jesus said, I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not be prevail against it. Bert, let me ask you this. Why was Satan so against the birth of Jesus, the incarnation? I'm going to put it this way. Nowadays, you know, people to death, they'll say the holidays or quote the season. It's almost like the secular world will bend over backwards to avoid saying Christmas.
>> Bert Harper: They're going to avoid holidays if they know where holla came from.
>> Alex McFarland: because it's really Holy days.
>> Bert Harper: Holy days. Yeah. If they find that out, they'll get at it too. Alex.
>> Alex McFarland: So let me ask you, why is the devil against Christmas?
>> Bert Harper: He's against because of the redemption of mankind. God loved the world so much that he gave his only begotten Son. John 3:16 is the Christmas story. It is. For God so loved the world that he gave, and Satan was bent on everything of the redemption of mankind. Because when you look at the garden, Alex, the crown of God's creation was humanity. Yes. He made the animals. Satan would destroy them as well. He would make the heavens. He would destroy them if he could. He'd destroy anything that God had made. But when he made man and brought forth the woman from the man, he said, this is very good. This is God's crown of creation. And Satan hates God. Therefore, he wants to hurt that which is closest to his heart. And so through Jesus Christ, man was going to be redeemed. And he is going to put every power that he could against him. Notice this, and I'll turn it back to you. The beginning of this redemption story started way back in Genesis. We know that. But Jesus being born Satan brings out all power, like Herod trying to kill him, driving him from the land where it would happen. And then when he started his ministry, if you remember, he was tempted and, you know, jumping from the pinnacle, turning the stones into bread and bowing down, that was tempting. How Jesus would, you know, redeem mankind kind of ministry would Jesus have? So that temptation came there in the very beginning. And then in the garden where he was praying, and he said, father, not want my will, but your will be done. The three great battles. Now, listen, this is worth preaching. If you're looking for an outline. This will preach that battle was at his birth, at the beginning of his ministry when, he was tempted. And then in the garden, when it was the struggle and he sweat drops of blood, the struggle of Satan didn't give up man. He went at him and went at him. But all three of these marked victorious story of the redemption of mankind through Jesus Christ. Alex. It all has to do with redemption, brother.
>> Alex McFarland: Well, amen. And then there's that other battle when Christ returns. And second, Thessalonians 2, verse 8 says that with the breath of his nostrils, the man of sin will be defeated. And look, we get excited about Christmas because God's grace and God's power and God's providence and God's mercy and love. And, yes, God's justice is operative throughout all of history.
Bert says listeners have an opportunity to make right with Jesus today
Now, here's the thing, in the birth of the baby and the eventual return of the king. Because, you know, Zechariah 12:10 says that, when he returns, they will look upon him who they pierce. They will mourn like they mourn for the death of an only son. Zechariah 13:6. They will say, what are these wounds in your hands and feet? And Jesus will say, the wounds I suffered at the hands of my friends. By the way, Jesus quoted that about himself in John 19. Here's the thing. One day Christ will return from heaven, and they will say, as they said in Matthew 1:21, you will call his name. Jesus. One day, look up, friend. That sky will open and the world will know, coming back as he came the first time. It is the return of Jesus. Now, for many, it'll be great celebration, great salvation. Others, it'll be condemnation. And you've got to make your decision today. You've got to make your decision now. And at Christmas, this time of giving gifts, why don't you give God your heart? So know this. Listen, God's grace is sufficient for your circumstances. God's grace is bigger than your past mistakes. God's grace will empower you. And God's grace is stronger than the devil and all of his lies. But fifthly, let me say this. God's grace is available right now, even if you've spent years rejecting it, and you might have held God at arm's length for a long time. You've. You've procrastinated with your soul. Now, today, Bert, I believe there are people hearing this little Christmas message right now, and this is their day, and this is their moment. And I could think of nothing better for us to do on exploring the Word than to do this, to give listeners everywhere an opportunity to make right with Jesus right now, today. Bert, somebody who wanted to pray and make sure that they're straight with God, what would that prayer be like?
>> Bert Harper: Bert, that prayer would have to be from the heart. the most amazing thing about God is he listens and hears the heart of man even more than the words of man. Over and over again. Jesus, when he was here on Earth, in the Gospels, he said he knew what they were thinking. He knew if it was real or not. So within your heart and in your life, and these words, you would pray and say, lord, I am a sinner. I'm lost. I have nothing that I could bring to you that would make me worthy of going to heaven, of being saved, of having my sins forgiven. There's nothing in me that brings me to that point. But, Lord, I know you sent Jesus. That's what Christmas is all about. That he would live perfectly and he would go to the cross as a sacrifice for me, and that he would be buried and he rose again. And, Father, I know he did that. I know he did it in my mind. But now, because I know it in my mind, I give my life to him. I surrender my life to him. I ask him to come into my life and forgive me of my sins, because only God can do that. And he is God. And I'm asking him to do it right now, Father. And I ask him to come into my life, live his life through me. I'm yours, Lord. I repent. I turn away from my sin. I ask you to be lord of my life now and forever. In Jesus name. Amen. Now, if you prayed that and you meant those words, and I don't know how to say that any more emphatic than I have, make sure that you've trusted Jesus. There is no other way. Jesus says, I am the way, the truth and the life. Nobody can come to the Father except through me. And there's no other religion. It is Jesus and Jesus alone. I pray that you've trusted him today, Alex. I remember when I did it. Changed my life forever, brother.
>> Alex McFarland: Amen. Absolutely. Absolutely.
Alex McFarland and Burt Harper share their Christmas message
And you know, Christmas, it's not just something in the final days of December. I mean, it's. It's reality. The people talk about the spirit of Christmas. Just to walk around in awe, in gratitude, in worship, in obedience, and in the spirit of witness. I mean, that's Christmas. To tell the world about Jesus Christ, who came because he loves you. And so we were talking about how God says, my grace is sufficient for my strength. Strength is perfectly manifested in weakness, most gladly. Paul says, therefore will I glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Listen, whatever you're going through, this is going to sound simplistic, but I want to say this. If you'll trust Jesus. Look, it's going to be okay. And not only is it going to be okay, In Christ you are victorious. You are victorious. there's a song I want to quote, and this is another one of those somewhat obscure songs, but if you look in the hymn book, you'll see it once in David's royal city. It's about the incarnation. Jesus. Fully human, yet fully divine. It says, jesus is our childhood's pattern. Day by day, like us, he grew. He was little, Weak and helpless. Tears and smiles like us he knew. And our eyes at last shall see him through his own redeeming love for that child so dear and gentle is the Lord of heaven above. And we hope you know this Lord and the one who was born in a manger to give you a mansion. We hope the place of his residence right now is your heart and life.
>> Bert Harper: Matter of fact, he said those of us who know him will. We're the temple of. Ah, the living God. That's right. Hallelujah. Well, Alex, Merry Christmas, brother.
>> Alex McFarland: Merry Christmas to you and your family and to all of our beloved listeners across this country.
>> Bert Harper: We thank God that American Family Radio has given Alex McFarland and Burt Harper the opportunity to share with you the greatest gift that you could ever receive on this Christmas Day. That gift is the Lord Jesus Christ. Invite him in. He'll change your life. And you'll never be the same. Merry Christmas.
>> Alex McFarland: The views and opinions expressed in this broadcast do not necessarily reflect those of the American Family association or American Family Radio.
