Actually, Mr.

Wood, you're the worst person.

I just don't understand it.

You're still feeling happy, but you're so untrustworthy.

You didn't bother me.

You need to get involved with some male partners.

All right, welcome.

So glad you're here this weekend.

So I want you to sit back and relax.

You got a cup of coffee, hot chocolate.

This is the weekend before Christmas, and every year I try to take us a little deeper into the story and the surrounding historical events of the first Christmas.

So I'm in Luke chapter 2, but I'll be all over the place.

And I want to take you on a little journey, okay?

First of all, I want to start by saying I do love family trees, you know?

Now, in the South, we don't really have family trees.

It's more like a ladder.

As I've said before, I wish I was kidding, but...

Those places do exist.

By the way, I told that joke once, and a man wrote me and said, I'm from the South, and my wife slash sister don't appreciate your joke.

So Jesus'birth, and there's going to be a lot of people around this Christmas that are here because it's that time of year, and as I say every year, welcome, I'm glad you're here.

Glad you decided to come to church on Christmas.

But there's so many people who still think that somehow this is a myth or a legend that's designed to make us all feel better.

And if we don't understand history, true history, then we won't understand that this is anything but a legend or myth.

Jesus'birth happened in real time and real space.

And maybe some of you have been led to believe that it's just a legend or a myth.

In fact, Matthew, one of the gospel writers, didn't want us to make that mistake.

So he starts his gospel by including what?

A genealogy.

Now, why would he do that?

To try to remind people this is a real family.

This is a real person in history.

In fact, one of the questions I received when I was in New Zealand on radio just a couple of weeks ago, and I'm surprised at this, I haven't heard this in a while, but somebody called in and said, why are Matthew and Luke's genealogies different?

So if that's ever bothered you, I think it's important to understand that Matthew traces Jesus'genealogy from Jesus to Abraham, while Luke traces the genealogy from Jesus to Adam.

Now why do they do that?

Well, Luke is writing to Theophilus.

He's reading to a Greco-Roman world.

And he's tracing the legal lineage to show Theophilus, this is a real person, real time and space.

But Matthew is writing for the Jews.

He's trying to show them that the biological lineage proves that Jesus came from the seed of Abraham, and therefore he qualifies as Messiah.

These genealogies are not contradictory, they're complementary.

Now, the greater point of the genealogies, however, is to show that the birth of Jesus is the culmination of prophecies.

and promises that God had made hundreds, if not thousands of years before Jesus was born.

See, if you're a skeptic, you've got to deal with that.

You've got to deal that we know the timing of the Old Testament books.

We know when they were written.

We know when these men lived and women.

You've got to deal with the fact, no matter what else you believe, you've got to deal with the fact that how did they know so much about Jesus hundreds and hundreds of years before he was ever born?

And there's only one plausible answer to that.

that there's something miraculous about this book.

However, in the first or original Christmas story, Jesus is not the only king in the play, is he?

In 63 BC, before Christ, a baby was born to a patrician family in Rome, and the child's name was Octavius Gaius.

His great uncle was ruler over the whole world.

We say over the whole world because Rome was in power.

His name was Julius Caesar.

In 44 BC, when the child, Octavius Gaius, had reached the age of 19, his great-uncle, Julius Caesar, was murdered.

He was assassinated on the Senate floor.

The death of Julius Caesar provoked a crisis in Rome, because now who's going to rule?

So he had passed down the death of Julius Caesar.

They passed down his authority to a trifecta that included three people.

His nephew, Octavian, Mark Antony, who incidentally gave Julius Caesar's funeral address, and a guy by the name of Lepidus.

These three men consolidated their power to lead Rome. But, as it always happens, conflict occurs.

They couldn't get along, so that in 36 B.C., Lepidus fell, now leaving power only between Octavius and Mark Antony.

But then in 31 B.C., 31 years before the birth of Christ, a conflict arose between the two, because Mark Antony, who had married Octavius'sister, became disloyal to her and began carrying on with an Egyptian woman by the name of Cleopatra.

So Mark Antony and Cleopatra consolidated their power, and they wanted to make war against Octavian so they could be the rulers.

This whole tension culminated in a battle called the Battle of Actium in the year 31 BC.

The forces of Octavian conquered the forces of Mark Antony and Cleopatra, and Antony and Cleopatra were so devastated by the defeat that together they committed suicide.

So now we're in the year 27 BC.

27 years before the birth of Christ, the Senate conferred upon the lone survivor of the trifecta, Octavius, the title of Augustus Caesar.

So he takes for himself the name Gaius Julius Caesar in honor of his late great uncle.

And so Octavius becomes the emperor you and I know as Caesar Augustus.

By the way, the name Augustus in the Greek is the word sabotas.

which means one who is filled with majesty, one who is sublime and is to be revered.

So Caesar Augustus, he resides for a long, long time over what became known as the Apoxtramanis, or the Peace of Rome.

So Augustus, who was an able administrator, was heralded the great emperor of peace.

He stood in stark contrast to one of the lesser vassal kings that ruled over the Jewish people by the name of Herod the Great.

Herod was known for his...

malvolence while Caesar was known for his benevolence.

Now stay with me, important stuff.

In history, this is a historical event, not myth.

In history, Luke tells us that a decree goes out from Caesar Augustus, who is who?

Octavius, the nephew of Caesar Augustus.

And that Caesar Augustus declares that there should be a census be taken in the world.

Again, you The world meaning the Roman world because Rome's in power and charge.

The reason for the decree was to take in more taxes.

Evidently, ruling effectively over an entire kingdom requires funds.

Unless, of course, you're the U.S.

government.

Then all you do is you just spend money you don't have on things you don't need.

So evidently, Rome was a little bit more organized.

So this imperial decree goes out, sanctioned by the full Senate.

The decree required that all people, the oppressed and the oppressors, it didn't matter who you were.

For the purpose of taxation, register.

Herod, he was complicit in all of this.

I mean, you'd think because he was ruling over the Jews that he wouldn't put more burdens on his people, that he would give them some representation, cut them a little slack.

They were already impoverished.

There were more burdens on the people than they'd ever had.

But of course, if you know anything about King Herod, he's only concerned about one thing, and it's not his people, it's King Herod.

Luke tells us that this took place by the decree of the emperor.

Caesar Augustus, who the Jews, listen now, regarded as king.

You remember when Jesus goes under trial, under Pontius Pilate, and the question is put to him, are you a king?

Jesus says what?

My kingdom is not of this world.

But Pilate introduced Jesus anyway as the king of the Jews, but the people protested and said, we have no king but who?

Caesar.

So the Jewish people regarded Caesar as their king.

So their king issued a decree.

It's a Greek word dogma or dogmatic.

He says, this is what you will do.

You will obey.

And they did.

The Jews, the Romans, and every other tribe obeyed the order given by the king.

And in history, few other kings have had more power than Caesar Augustus.

Now that's king one.

There's a second king in the story, isn't there?

And it's the king who rules over Caesar Augustus in whose hand Octavius was merely.

upon the one who rules over heaven and earth, the Lord God of heaven and of earth, Yeshua, whose edicts go out all over humanity and whose plans cannot be shaken, whose kingdom will never end.

Amen?

While Octavius is making his decrees, thinking he's fully in charge, God is making his.

Before the foundations of the world, God decided that in space and time, This human king, Caesar, would give an edict requiring all the people of the Jews to return to their homeland.

And the eternal God of heaven gave his decree to make sure that this obscure little prophecy found in the modern prophets of the Old Testament, Micah, would come to pass.

So just as God had promised, you Bethlehem, though you may be small among the princes of Judah, out of you will come my king.

And because God had decreed it to the complete lack of knowledge of Caesar Augustus, Augustus, thinking somehow that he was exercising his own sovereignty over all his subjects, was merely fulfilling the sovereign decree of an almighty God that in the fullness of time at this place, in this country, in this village, in this manner, the only begotten son of God would be born.

Now, can we think about that just for a moment?

Just for a moment.

Why do so many of us panic as Christ followers?

when things don't go the way we think they should.

I still look back.

We should have learned a lot of lessons during COVID.

I saw far too many Christians panic.

Why should we panic when our culture attacks Christmas?

Why should we panic when Judeo-Christian ethics and values are mocked and ridiculed?

When Santa is more popular than the Christ child?

When the king we wanted to get elected is not the king that takes the throne, why do we fall apart?

Are all these things not harbingers of things to come?

Have we not been told to watch, to stay ready, to stay alert?

And have we not been told that God is the ultimate king on the throne and nothing happens without his knowledge?

The central character in the Christmas story is not Augustus.

It's not even God the father.

It's the baby in the manger, the third king of the narrative who was born this day as a prince, whose birth was foretold centuries and centuries before it took place.

In fact, all the way back to Genesis, for those of you who love reading the Old Testament, in the first patriarchal blessing that was given to Jacob and his sons, Issachar, Reuben, Levi, Gad, all received a portion of the promised inheritance.

But when Jacob came to Judah...

He described Judah as a lion's whelp.

A lion's whelp means the sons of the lion.

And he says to Judah, the kingdom, the scepter, which symbolizes the monarchy.

This scepter will not depart from Judah until Shiloh comes.

And guess what happened?

Centuries later, from the loins of Judah and from his son David comes this babe born in Bethlehem, born to be a king, promised by God, anointed by the Holy Spirit.

destined for human rejection and mockery.

So that at the time of his trial, those who were accusing him dressed him in garments of a king.

They tied thorns together and made a crown and placed it on his head, just as Isaiah the prophet had said would happen hundreds of years before he was even born.

Zechariah, who we now know lived 600 years before Jesus was even born.

David prophesied in detail that Jesus would be betrayed by a friend for 30 pieces of silver thrown down in the house of the Lord and that the money would be used to buy a potter's fill.

David also, hundreds of years before the first Christmas, wrote an amazing prophecy as well.

David prophesied, and this is one of the clinchers for me in my early childhood faith or in my crisis of faith in my 20s.

David prophesied the manner in which Christ was going to die.

Crucifixion.

But you know what's amazing about this?

The Romans hadn't even invented crucifixion yet as a way of capital punishment.

So David predicted Jesus'death by crucifixion when no one even knew what crucifixion was.

That's pretty astounding.

Daniel foretold the date that Jesus would appear on earth the first time.

Given the number of years, the Messiah would come after the reign of King Ahasuerus I.

issued the decree for the Jews to leave Persia and go to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls.

And just as Isaiah had predicted, hundreds of years before Jesus was born, they gave him a scepter, bowed down before him, spat on him, scorned him, and said, Hail, King of the Jews.

And then they led him out to be crucified, but not before they published his crime above his head in three different languages, the King of the Jews.

Sometimes when I go through this, I often think of what's going to happen in eternity.

Philippians 2 says that at the name of Jesus, right?

Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

And when we hear that, it's not saying that, you know, the writer's not trying to tell us that eventually everybody will be saved.

The writer's trying to tell us you're either going to do that in this life, but make no mistake, the time will come, everybody's going to do it.

And I just wonder what, instead of mockery, it's going to, there's this shocking reality that's going to come upon humanity.

What would it be like to discover that the one you ignored, although his name is everywhere, and the one you mocked while millions everywhere entered churches to worship, you paid no mind or homage, the one you denied while many others confessed, the one you hated while some loved, the one you belittled while others exalted, the one who constantly pursued you while you tried to block him out of your life and your mind.

What's it going to be like for so many?

who've had so many opportunities for repentance, who've heard the good news of the gospel all of their lives, who understand it, who've heard it, but have rejected it.

What is it going to be like?

Somehow thinking that there'll be more time, there'll be another day, another time, or a second chance.

What will happen when you suddenly discover that Jesus was, is, and forever will be the Lord of the universe, and that although he offered you his kingdom and his salvation, You refused to submit.

You went your own way.

You convinced yourself, despite all the contrary evidence, that Jesus may have been a good moral teacher, but nothing more than that.

And suddenly the king has returned to claim what is rightfully his and to restore all that has been lost.

All those who humbled themselves, called on his name, will be ushered into the new heavens and the new earth while you are still outside the walls, separated.

ruined and left to your own demise.

This is a cosmic king.

This is the king of glory.

Before the foundations of the world, God decreed this, that he would send his son, that his son would be subjected to mockery and ridicule, would be crucified and buried, but could not be held in the arms of death, so that he would rise again and do what no king before him had ever done.

He took the highest throne in the heavens.

at the right hand of the Father, where he intercedes for his children, who are mocked and ridiculed and sometimes put to death, that they too may be raised to new life.

Under the decree of Caesar Augustus, a census was taken.

Jesus is born in Bethlehem.

Under the decree of Pontius Pilate, Jesus was handed over to be crucified.

But under the decree of the highest king in the universe, They were all pawns in the hand of God who will crown Jesus king of kings and Lord of lords forever and ever.

Amen.

And he's not just the king of the Jews and he's not just the king of the Christians and he's not just the king of those who believe in him.

And he's not just the king of whoever will come forward to receive him.

He is made king of kings and Lord of lords, no matter who responds or doesn't respond.

It doesn't change his identity.

As I look back over 2024, the end of a year of hatred, vitriol, and downright demonization of everything political, I'm begging you once again as we come to Christmas, let us never forget Christ has dominion over the church, the state, economics, science, over every dominion and dimension of human experience.

And yet, this king does something no other king does.

or even could fathom doing.

In the birth of Christ, we see the greatest power in human history.

Dorothy Sayers, whom I've quoted often, said the incarnation means that for whatever reason, God chose to allow us to fall into a condition of suffering, sorrows, and death.

He nonetheless had the honesty and courage to take his own medicine.

He himself has gone through the whole of human experience from the trivial irritations of family life and the cramping restrictions of hard work and lack of money to the worst horrors of pain and humiliation, defeat, despair, and death.

He was born in poverty and suffered infinite pain all for us and thought it well worth his while.

You will find this in no other philosophy, no other faith system where God, the King of glory becomes an embryo.

and descends into our world.

This is no ordinary king.

He's a king who controls and holds all other kings together and accountable.

And yet he's a king who does what no other king would dare do.

He humbles himself, becomes less than he is to save his people and demonstrate his power.

Whoa, Pastor Jeff, how does coming to the earth in the form of a baby demonstrate his power?

C.S.

Lewis was asked this.

Here's his response.

Follow carefully.

It's brilliant.

The power of the higher, just insofar as it is truly higher, can come down to include the lesser.

Everywhere the great enters the little, its power to do so is almost the test of its greatness.

We can become kittenish with our kittens, but your kitten will never discuss philosophy with you.

Probably try to kill you, but that's another thing.

When I am at peace in joy, I can enter the herd of someone who is angry and despondent.

But when I am angry and despondent, I cannot enter into someone else's joy and peace.

Why?

Because joy and peace are higher, greater.

That's why Lincoln can understand Hitler, but Hitler can never understand Lincoln.

Why?

Because Lincoln is greater.

How do you know something is really high and really great?

It can come down.

It can enter into the lesser.

It can sympathize, empathize, and humble itself.

You are strong enough to be weak.

You are secure enough to be vulnerable.

This is a king that is not addicted to power.

This is a king addicted to us.

And he's willing to do whatever it takes without the violation of your choosing to bring us to a place we know is real.

Man, you think about this.

When I see King Jesus, the King of glory, kings don't run.

They walk.

It's undignified to run.

But this king runs.

Oh, yeah.

He sprints out to meet the prodigal son whose heart has finally turned toward home.

Kings don't weep.

They pass edicts to get whatever it is they want.

But this king weeps.

He weeps over the city of Jerusalem, yearning for the hearts of his people.

Kings don't hang out with riffraff.

You need an appointment to see the king.

This king, he eats with prostitutes, tax collectors, and sinners.

Kings don't forgive debts.

They imprison families who can't afford to pay what they owe.

This king, though, this king is different.

He forgives the debt of anyone, no matter how large, if they would just humble themselves and simply ask for forgiveness.

In fact, this king laid down his life.

for his servants so that they too might become kings.

I know there have been others who have laid down their lives, but this is different.

This is the God of everything laying down his life for humanity.

He who is immortal becomes mortal.

He who is eternal willingly becomes temporary.

He who is immutable suffers mutation.

The king of glory becomes a servant to everyone.

And that's why this Christmas all over the world, I promise you that many will be reading Isaiah 53.

For he was cut off from the land of the living.

For the transgression of my people, he was punished.

He was assigned a grave with the wicked, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.

And it was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer.

And though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his...

Oh, I love this.

He will see his offspring and prolong his days.

He will...

Do you see that?

He will see his offspring.

Who's the offspring?

Oh, that's you and me.

And prolong his day, and the will of the Lord will prosper in the land.

But the resurrection and ascension, in it, the birth, the death, the burial, the resurrection, we see the most dramatic political event in the history of the world.

A little baby by divine decree is made the cosmic king, the greatest story in the universe.

Now, here's how I want to end.

or start.

Come on now, it's Christmas.

Here's the thing.

If Jesus is the cosmic king, and if this is the greatest story in the universe, you know what it means?

Number one, it means he's always on the throne.

I mean, there are no term limits here.

There are no preliminaries.

There are no elections.

There's only one king who's qualified to operate the universe.

That's the cosmic king, the king of glory.

And Jesus is the king over every event in history.

History is his story.

And he's moving everything toward his glory in our redemption.

Every event of our lives is under his sovereign control.

And although I'm sure he's often extremely disappointed in some of the decisions we make in humanity, make no mistake, a good king rules the land and he will redeem and restore all that is lost.

Sometimes this good king will often allow things that seem to make no sense to us in order to accomplish his ultimate good.

But isn't it true?

Stay with me.

Isn't it true for those of you here this Christmas and you've suffered so much and there's so many things in your life that you're wondering, how could God be sovereign?

How could God be in control?

Because if he's in control, he's making a mess of my life.

Now forget about the side of it that, well, sometimes you don't exactly make the wisest decisions and sometimes your friends don't make the wisest decisions, but the reality is there are a lot of things that happen that we have no control over that are painful.

Now listen carefully.

This is a very unpopular view.

I'm sure some of the preachers you watch on television wouldn't like this.

Even in our humanity, we understand that the greatest destinations require the most difficult roads.

If God truly loves me and wants to get me to where he says...

is eternity where the desires of my heart will be met, then shouldn't God mess me up a little bit here to make sure I get there?

You know, there's a new Seven Wonders of the World now.

I didn't know that.

Where have I been?

Victoria Falls, which I have been there.

But you know what?

Michael, if you and I decided we're going to Victoria Falls tomorrow, it's going to be a long journey.

It'll be treacherous.

Or how about Petra, which I've also been there, in Jordan.

But I can tell you that's a long journey, and there's a part of that journey that's a little bit risky.

Or what about Mount Everest?

I think people die every year, don't they, because they can't take the lack of oxygen trying to climb Mount Everest.

Or what about, and I love the name of this, Machu Picchu, Peru.

Most people can't adjust to the altitude.

Surfers, which for some reason I'm fascinated with, because every time I take a flight, they're showing you great surfing videos now.

So I've never surfed, terrified of the ocean water, so I never would.

But I like watching people who do.

And they'll tell you that the most awesome places to surf, ocean waters, you can only access by helicopter.

It's difficult to get there.

Sometimes they're just dropped by helicopter.

There's no road.

God is desperate for you and his destination for you is his kingdom.

And your journey as a result is often going to be fraught with peril.

You say, why?

I don't understand why it has to be that way.

Because sometimes, well, actually, I would say 100% of the time, God knows how you're wired.

God knows who you are and he knows what it takes to get you to open your eyes to the reality of eternity.

And all of the interpretations that you've made over the course of your life that you think God's abandoned you, the reality is he's never been more involved in your life.

He's trying to wake you up.

If Jesus is the cosmic king of the greatest story in the universe, then he's always on the throne.

And second, he always has the last word.

Whether the world agrees to serve under his rule or not, he's still the king of the land, isn't he?

Isn't it true that a refusal to serve and worship him is cosmic treason because he's the cosmic king?

If you don't serve and worship, then you're on the outside looking in.

There must be a journey made toward Jesus as Jesus made his journey toward you.

But if you do agree to worship and to serve the cosmic king, then that means every event of your life becomes redeemable.

You're never promised an easy life.

But he does promise to redeem and to restore everything that you'll ever lose if you will follow him.

Yeah, Jeff, but I just don't understand why he allows some of the things into my life.

Okay.

Honesty.

Do you know why you don't understand?

Because you're not God.

You're limited.

Oh, you're just going to tell me I just got to trust him.

Yes, but it's not blind trust.

You remember what Paul said in Romans 8?

What then shall we say in response to these things?

If God is for us, who can be against us?

He who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all.

How will he not also along with him graciously give us all good things?

So Paul said, yeah, I know life can be tough.

Paul, as a matter of fact, would tell you his life was pretty tough.

And he, I'm sure he wondered sometimes, hey, can you not take this thorn away from me?

This thorn in the flesh?

Can you not, can I not be shipwrecked so often?

Can I not be beaten up and battered and bruised?

But here's what Paul decided.

On the basis of what I know, I will trust him for what I don't know.

And here's what I do know.

He redeemed me through the blood of the Lamb.

He sent His Son into the world.

And just quickly, if you're here this weekend, I've had so many people say to me that, you know, I just don't, I don't like the way your God operates.

And of course, you know, I hear what you're saying, but in reality, it doesn't matter what you think.

It doesn't.

I mean, it really doesn't.

He either did or he didn't.

I mean, whether you like it or not, it's immaterial.

But the more I think about what God did in sending his son, it's brilliant.

If you think, if you'll just think about it, if somebody, if God wanted to communicate to you and me how much he loves us, what would be the most effective way to do it?

Now you think about it.

The greatest love in the human experience, I still think, is a love between a parent and a child.

It's different than romantic love.

There's the four Greek words of love, eros, which is romantic love, between husband and wife, phileo, friendship love, agape, which is an unconditional type of love between us, what God has for us, we're incapable of it.

But then there's storge, parental love.

And you know, I do love my wife.

I would die for my kids and my grandkids.

I wouldn't even think about it.

If something happened to one of my kids and I could say to God, take my life, no problem.

Wouldn't you do that for your wife?

Well, it depends on how old we are.

I do love my wife, but I'm just trying to say it is different, and you know it.

So if God wants to communicate to us the depth of his love for us in a way that we can understand it, what is the best way to do it?

Just give up his own son.

You may not like it.

It's the method God chose.

I've had people tell me why I want another method.

The fact of the matter is, if he gave you a million, you'd want another one.

This is a Christmas story.

I know that as we move toward Christmas, every Christmas and Easter, there's a story.

that I know is told from pulpits all around the world.

And I think it first appeared like in the 1960s, but I've mentioned it, and I'm not going to go through the whole story, but I love the statement because if he's the cosmic king, he really does have the last word about everything.

I mean, people speak into situations and circumstance, but he's got the last word.

And it's that great movie that I've mentioned, The Seventh Seal, where you've got this medieval knight playing chess against death.

And then death makes a move on the chessboard and then says, checkmate, a famous movie, artsy type movie.

Bobby Fisher, the world champion chess player, saw the movie and said to a friend of his, wait a minute, they got it wrong.

The king has one more move.

The king has one more move.

And pastors use that.

It's just too good an illustration because it's true.

No matter where you are in your life, the fact of the matter is God has the last move.

No matter where your marriage is, you think it's irretrievable, but God always has the last move.

Right now, you think your kids are estranged and they're never going to come home to the Father?

God always has it.

He always has the last move.

He's always got one more move.

Just at the end, when you think it's all done, just when you think God's not going to show you his will for your life, just when you think he's not going to open the door that you need to be open for your life to be everything you think it ought to be, you go on and on and on.

The thing with God is, the King always has, the cosmic King always has one more move.

Checkmate never comes.

Because there's always something he can do.

Now, here's the part we haven't talked.

You know what the last word is?

The last word is transformation.

You know, Christ came to redeem us, forgive us of our sins.

Yeah, I got that.

But you know, he saved us to do what?

Come on.

He saved us to sanctify us.

He saved us so that the spirit of the living God could come in and change you.

In my travels, I've had, I want to say the joy, but I've had awesome experiences of going into prisons, not only in Rwanda, but other places.

And there's a prison in Louisiana named Angola Prison.

I don't know if you know much about this prison.

There are over 5,300 prisoners, 85% of whom are incarcerated for life without parole.

45 of them are on death row.

It used to be the bloodiest prison in the country.

Blood on the walls, blood on the ceiling, blood on the carpets.

Until an aptly built man by the name of Burl K, with a wide girth, a demeanor of a southern sheriff, comes over and says, I'll take this job as warden if you let me do it my way.

And out of desperation, they gave him the job.

The warden came to town, ruled the prison, and this is what he did.

He put Bible verses on all the prison walls.

He has Bible studies every single day.

He even has a degree program going on there for theology.

90 prisoners are now registered.

Gangs of prisoners are now gangs of pastors.

And when you used to check into Angola prison, they'd give you a knife to protect yourself.

Now you can take the loveliest young woman, walk her past the cells, and you won't hear a profane word, no catcalls.

You won't hear a derogatory remark because profanity is not allowed in the prison by either staff or inmate.

It has become one of the safest prisons in the country.

And as you walk by each cell, you'll notice every cell has a Bible.

Now, you say, well, yeah, prisoners do that because, you know, they think if they do this, they'll get out.

Hold on.

Didn't you hear what I said?

They're on death row.

They're not going anywhere except to the execution chamber.

And if you go into the execution chamber, which most men will end up, a prisoner has painted two paintings.

and I encourage you to Google this because you need to see the paintings.

On one side of the wall, so as they come into the execution chamber, your life is being taken from you now.

And on one side of the wall is Daniel and the lion's den.

One of the prisoners painted, hanged their work of art, and down below it says, God can still rescue you.

And of course, in my mind, I'm thinking, what if he doesn't?

Well, on the other side is another painting, Elijah, rising to the heavens through chariots of fire, with the caption, if he doesn't rescue this way, he'll rescue you that way.

Listen, in Revelation 20, verse 6.

One of my favorite chapters in the Bible.

Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection.

The second death has no power over them.

This cosmic king, the king of glory, comes to earth, dies for us, to pave a way to the Father.

And you're told that there are two deaths and two resurrections.

And if you experience the first death, You have no need to fear the second one.

What is the first death?

It's where you die to you and serve the cosmic king.

And if you die to you and you serve the cosmic king, The writer of the book of Revelation tells you, you're just not playing a game now.

You're not just going through the motions.

You literally die to yourself.

That's why we say in baptism, you're dying to your old man being raised anew.

It doesn't mean you're perfect, but it means you're willfully making the decision that I am dying to my old way and I'm resurrected to walk in a new way of life.

And if you experience the first death, you experience also the first resurrection.

When you come out of the water, you are born again.

You're new.

But if you do experience the first death and the first resurrection, the second death you need not fear because your resurrection now will be unto life.

Now, can I tell you something?

I am not making an emotional appeal right now.

This is an intellectual argument.

Jesus is the cosmic king.

He is the king of glory, whether you believe that or not.

I mean, I love you.

But he's the cosmic king.

And I think deep down inside, you know it.

But you know if you received him, you might have to change your life and you're not willing to do that.

What a mistake.

Because this cosmic king is jealous for you, is hounding you.

And sooner or later, when you finally decide to die to yourself and live anew, everything changes.

And every Christmas from that...

time on will be so meaningful to you because you'll know that even in your sin, he has redeemed you.

And that Christmas night was a holy night.

Oh, it was holy.

And you are to fall on your knees.

Hear his voice.

Die to yourself.

Embrace life.

That is Christmas.

Father, thank you for your love for us and the Christmas story.

Oh, when I think that so many human events surrounding what you're doing in the world, how you're able to take all of that and bring about your will and your glory and your plan.

We don't understand.

We can't fathom how that can happen.

To fathom how the God of the universe can come down as a child in a manger?

Showing that one, your power is greater than we could ever imagine because it's able to come down in weakness.

But your love is greater than we could ever imagine because you're willing to do that for us.

To save us from our sins.

The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

And even though we'd want 10,000 other ways, we know that if you gave it to us, we'd still want one more.

So I pray that eyes will be open this Christmas and those far from you would come near in Christ's name.

Amen.

We hope you enjoyed today's message.

If you want to know more about what it's like to be a Christ follower, I want to encourage you to go to oneandall.church.com to get more information, as well as to reach out to us to walk alongside you in this step.

I also want to encourage you to download our One and All app as we have so many resources there for you, like...

our daily devotionals, our conversations, podcasts, as well as the sermons, and to know what is happening here at our church so you can get plugged in.

We hope you have a great rest of your week, and we'll end as we always do with one hope, one life in Christ.