Welcome to the Kerwin Baptist Church broadcast today. Our desire is for the Word of God to be spread throughout the world so that all may know Christ. Join us now for a portion of one of our services here at Kerwin Baptist Church, located in Kernersville, North Carolina. Luke chapter 2. Appreciate Brother Frank reading our passage.
And what is interesting, Brother Frank did exactly right. He did exactly what I gave him. My key verse is actually verse 11. And so when I texted him, I said, if you will, please read Luke chapter 2, verses 1 through 10. And verse 11 is actually my key verse.
So we didn't even read the key verse yet, but that is not Frank's fault today. That is my fault. And I've got to, you know, if I'm going to pick on him, I might as well say when I blew it. But we're going to read verses 10 and 11. Our subject today is the greatest moment.
We're going to take a little bit of a break from our Heaven Help Us series, especially this Sunday and next Sunday. And we're going to deal with a couple of Christmas passages that are very familiar to you. But we want to make sure we look at them a little bit deeper and a little bit broader and make sure we apply it to our lives. And let me remind you again, tonight, there is no service in here. 5 o'clock in Myers will be their last showing of our Christmas play.
Next Sunday night, and we all always look forward to this is our children's Christmas program. Also next Sunday morning the Ben Rochester family is going to be here singing because Ram and Lulu are coming in from Hawaii. Why they would want to come to America at this time of the year from Hawaii, but we're glad that they are. They've got a new young'un to dedicate to the Lord. It means so much.
We've gotten to dedicate all their children to the Lord. Ram and Lulu made quite an impact on us during their time here. And so we're excited, and we're going to have their baby dedication next Sunday morning. And the Ben Rochester family will be singing, and then our children's program Sunday night. A lot of good things happening.
Then the next Sunday on that Sunday evening will be our special communion service and right before Christmas. The greatest moment. Look at verse 10 and verse 11 again, if you would, Luke chapter 2. And the angel said unto them, Fear not. Who are we talking to here?
Well, we're talking to shepherds. And we obviously know that here is the angel sending the message to these shepherds. We know that men, then they leave, they go to find. Jesus and this announcement that they've made, they made to the shepherds, but if you'll notice the wording, it's an announcement to all of us. You're familiar with it, most of you could quote it.
But I want you to notice again, he says, fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings. of great joy which shall be. Notice this, to all people.
So I'm letting you know. But this is to all people. And by the way, you should be grateful for that. He says, for unto you, hold on.
Now this is to all people. For unto you. Is born this day in the city of David a Savior. which is Christ the Lord. 27 words in verse 11.
And yet it carries the weight of eternity. in a moment. In the middle of the night, God delivered the message. that would deliver mankind. And we want to talk about this moment and how Jesus can change things.
in a moment. This is not just merely an announcement of a birth. It's the, listen to me, this is the moment that changed every moment after it. Everything changed. With here.
Notice number one this morning, I want you to see a personal declaration.
Now, we have a lot going on, and of course, busy this evening, and I'm going to be mindful of your time over this Christmas season. And notice verse 10. And the angel said, Fear not, all right? Don't be afraid. I bring you good tidings.
So, you know, here you've got an angel appearing to you. This could be good or bad. You don't, this is the first time this has happened to them.
So, obviously, he immediately puts them at ease, gives them peace in the situation. He said, This is a good message. And notice what it says, which shall be to all people for unto you. A personal declaration. And what I want you to know today here at Kerwin is that Jesus came.
Unto you. You say, well, he came for all of us. Yes, it's a message that'll be to all people. But unto you is born this day. A savior.
Christmas, I saw this, I thought this was good. Christmas is God looking at the world. and then pointing his finger at you. Christmas is God looking at the world, but then pointing his finger. at you.
It goes from great joy to all people. To unto you. Not unto Bethlehem, Not unto Israel, not unto the world. He says unto you, This means that Jesus is available to all people. But even more importantly, he's available specifically to you.
Now, I don't want to take for granted that in a building our size, even at the Christmas season, I don't want to. Assume. That everybody here knows Jesus Christ as their Savior.
Now, everybody in this building might know a little bit about Jesus and might know the name and the terms, and they might know the church slogans that we use, but. Do you know Jesus? He didn't just die for the world. He didn't just come for the world. He came unto you.
I want you to notice first the gospel is global. but it is also personal. What this means is, this will be to all people, but unto you. That means the gospel is global, but it is also personal. God loves the world, but He saves one person at a time.
Amen. This angelic message is Heaven saying, I know your name, I know your need, and I came for you. If Christ is not born in your heart, What good is it that he was born in Bethlehem? Let me tell you what Spurgeon said: if a man be not born again. It is a small matter that Christ was born in Bethlehem.
In other words, it doesn't even matter to you where Jesus was born. or if he was born. if he's not born in your heart. Warren Wearsby said this: The Christmas message is that God sends us a Savior, not a helper to assist us, but a Redeemer to rescue us. God's message is universal, but his salvation is individual.
God's gospel is big enough for the whole world, yet it is small enough to fit inside one broken heart at a time. Unto you. And all I want you to really understand this morning, every one of you, is that all the things that maybe about yourself you don't like and Maybe even all the things about yourself you get told from people that they don't like. I do want you to know. that if you were the only person that existed, Jesus would have come unto you.
And he loves you. And he has never forsaken you. And he wants to save you today. A personal declaration. Notice, secondly, about this verse: this is the comfort.
of Christmas. Not only that God's gospel is global, but it is also personal. But I want you to notice this is the very thing that gives us comfort at Christmas. Gifts don't give us comfort at Christmas. I know a lot of people that get gifts, but they don't get comforted by it.
There are some people that it doesn't matter what you give and what you do, there's still things inside and hurt inside that you're not going to get rid of. But that phrase, unto you is born, means this during Christmas: that whoever you are and whatever you're going through, you are not overlooked by Jesus. You are not lost in the crowd. You are not forgotten in the busyness of a holiday season. The world may not know your battles, and even your family might not know what you're going through, but heaven does.
You know the very first word that heaven emphasizes. This message is the word you. For unto you is born this day. Max Licato said, If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. Corey Tin Boom said, There is no pit so deep.
That God is not already there waiting on you. You see, the comfort of Christmas is not the season, it's the Savior. A personal declaration. Want you to notice secondly we see a present. deliverer.
He says, For unto you, is born This Day.
Now the angel does not say someday. He says this day. It's not God will help you eventually. It's not God will fix it someday. It's not maybe later.
He says, This day a savior is born. Notice first that God's help is not delayed, it's delivered. God's help is not delayed, it's delivered. Listen, God often works in ways that you and I cannot see, but He never works on backorder. What the world was waiting for in promise, God delivered in person that day.
And what that tells me and tells you is that Jesus wants to change everything in a moment and he wants that moment to be today.
Now if you're not saved, that's the moment to change. But if you are saved, there are still things in your life today. God wants to change it today in a moment. How many of you know that one decision can change a life? Galatians 4:4 says, But when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his Son.
There had been 400 years of silence, all this prediction, all this prophecy, and all the Old Testament promises, and all the things that point to Jesus Christ. And on Wednesday nights, we've been going through seeing Jesus in the Old Testament, and we've barely made it out of the book of Genesis in an entire year. All the way through the Old Testament, we see Jesus being predicted. But there had been a season of silence, and all of a sudden, Jesus shows up. And in this moment, this day, a Savior was born.
Not late, not early, right on time. Adrian Rogers says Jesus did not come to tell us the time. He came at the right time. When God moves, he moves at the perfect moment. Unto you was born this day.
Notice, secondly, Christ steps into our now. to redeem our forever. I want you to notice this: born this day. This shows that Jesus steps into our now.
So that he can redeem and change our forever. You know what the manger tells us? God enters the moment so he can redeem the years. That means when you feel overwhelmed, he is your strength this day. When you feel uncertain, he is your peace this day.
When you feel empty, he is your joy this day. Christmas means God moves toward you, not eventually, but immediately. Whatever you're carrying this season, God is not waiting for a better time to help you. He is present, he is available, and he is active this Day.
Some of you might have walked into this building with a heavy heart. Don't I know? But I do want you to understand that Jesus wants to Come in this moment. And he doesn't want to just change this moment. He wants this moment to change everything.
Oswald Chambers says the greatest need is not to do things. but to believe things. Jesus was born not when you were ready. But when you were needy. What you notice, number three.
We see a powerful deliverance. We see a personal declaration. And I don't know about you. I'm glad he was born unto me. unto you.
We see a present deliverer this day. And I want you to notice what this message said. He said, There is born unto you this day. A savior. Which is Christ the Lord.
The angel did not announce a good example has been born. The angel did not announce a great teacher. has been born. The angel did not say a moral influencer. Has been born.
He said a savior. I want you to notice first what we see is that Jesus is not a teacher to admire, but a savior to trust. You see, a teacher can inform you. A coach can inspire you. A leader can influence you.
A lifeguard can rescue you. A friend can listen to you. But only a savior can save you. Christmas is not about God giving us advice. Christmas is about God giving us deliverance.
Billy Graham said, The greatest need of mankind is forgiveness, and the greatest gift of God. is that forgiveness. Not a teacher to admire, but a savior to trust. I want you to notice secondly out of this, Jesus came not to give advice. but to give deliverance.
You know what advice says? Advice says try harder. Deliverance says it is finished. Advice says, fix yourself. Deliverance says, I've come to save you.
Advice says do this. Deliverance says, I've done it all for you. Jesus did not come to add something to your life. He came to transform your life. A.W.
Tozer said, Christ is not one option among many. He is the only option at all. Jesus is a Savior to cleanse your sin. He is Christ to fulfill your longing. He is Lord to lead your life.
Unto you is born this day a Savior. to cleanse you of your sin. Christ to fulfill your longing, the Lord to lead your life. The manger is sweet, but the message is serious. Jesus came because we needed saving.
I saw this, I thought it was interesting. Before, we can see the cross as something done for us. We have to see it as something done by us. You see, there was a need for the cross. Because you and I put Jesus on that cross.
So you say, Preacher, what's your conclusion? This very simple message. Yeah, this verse is very simple. It's very straight to the point.
Now we preachers can go on for hours, but when Jesus sends a message. It's very simple, brief. And right to the point. The angel's message here was not ancient, it was immediate. Not distant but present.
Not general but present. personal. Three truths I want you to just see quickly. He came for you. He came this day.
And he came to save.
So During this Christmas season, the question is not, was Jesus born? The question is this, has Jesus been born in you? Have you been born? Again. the Bible says.
Let this be your moment. Let this be this day. As I looked at verse 11, I wrote this down. And um I thought.
Some of you like alliteration, here you go. First we see the motivation unto you. Second we see the moment. this day. Then we see the message: a savior.
And then we see the Master, which is Christ the Lord. Jesus makes things very, very Simple. Years ago we were preaching revival in Coshocton, Ohio. Does anybody have any idea where Coshocton, Ohio is? It might not be there, I don't even know.
It might be Indiana, I don't remember which one it was, but. We were preaching a meeting there for a pastor, and I'll tell you why I always remember them because they raised Boston Terrier dogs. I have always loved. You know, those black and white Boston Terrier dogs. Absolutely love them.
And he raised them. Every time we'd be in revival, many times we would stay in the pastor's house with him, and there'd be dogs everywhere. My dad hated it. I guess that's why I love going so much. It was uh...
We were there during the holidays one time, and they had like a get-together at their house, and we were staying there. Dad was doing kind of a Christmas thing. They had presence under the tree, and so we're just there. And you kind of feel awkward. We're sitting there eating, then they're going to, some of their family had come in, others were coming in.
Actually, towards Christmas, we were going to leave. This is like a week before, but they had some gifts to open with some of the family.
So we were sitting there and they're opening gifts. It's very awkward when you're at something and everybody's opening gifts, but you're not really involved. You didn't bring a gift. You're not going to get a gift.
So you're like, why am I sitting here? This is just awkward, you know. And I'll never forget, we were sitting there, and I guess because I was young and I was a child at that point, and I was the only child. They were opening gifts and all of a sudden that pastor walked over. and got under the tree and he pulled up a A present And he looked at the tag and he looked at me and he said, This one has your name on it.
I was never forget that. This one has your name on it. I'm like. I'm not part of this family. And he gave it to me, and sure enough, it said Daniel Hawtry.
And Here's what I found out and I looked back and I realized. A gift becomes real when it becomes personal. And you have to understand What Jesus is saying here. is that he has placed a gift under the tree of humanity. And the tag has your name on it.
And Jesus only becomes real. when he becomes personal. And all he said was listen. It's up to you. The ball's in your court.
For unto you. is born this day. A savior. I want to ask you to bow your heads, and I would like to, if they don't mind, unless anybody had to leave. I want the praise team to come up, and I want you to do that medley again with us today at the end.
I think that We think about the fact that Jesus came. To me, that he came this day that a moment can change everything. I think that we have a whole lot. to be thankful for. Our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed.
And as they assemble, I want to ask you something today. Nobody looking around, everybody. Eyes closed, heads bowed out of respect for each other. If you're sitting here today and you say, preacher, You talked about all this, but I do not know for sure. that I'm saved.
Preacher, I don't think that I would know for sure that I'm on my way to heaven. I'm a good person, I think. I've tried to do a lot, and I've been to church or whatever the case might be. And dear friend, I want you to know: all the good things in the world we could do can't get us to heaven. I want you to know while you're sitting here, you need to know that there was a Savior that was born unto you, and He is available today.
And he's a Savior, He's Christ, and He's Lord. And with our heads bowed and our eyes closed, if you're here on this Just a few days before Christmas, really. If you do not know Jesus as your Savior, our heads bow and our eyes are closed. I would hate for you to leave because you're too embarrassed to maybe get up and come in front of people. And the Bible never says you have to do that.
The Bible just says you have to believe. I would love to make it. As simple for you as Jesus has. It wasn't easy, but it's simple. It cost him everything, but it is understandable.
And Jesus came up with a plan that even a child can be saved. If you say, Preacher, I'm not saved, but I'd like to be right where you are. If you bow, you can. Pray this morning just between you In Jesus. And you can pray, Dear Jesus, I believe that you died for me.
I believe that you came. I believe that you love me. I believe this Christmas story that we talk about. I believe it's real. And Jesus today.
I acknowledge I'm a sinner. that I cannot save myself and I am asking you today. to save me not because I've done good works because the best I could do is meaningless when it comes to salvation. I'm asking you to save me today. Because I believe in you.
And I love you. And I'm asking you to save me. Dear friend, I believe if you pray that with a sincere heart, It's not necessarily the prayer, it's your heart saying that and believing. in our Savior. Lord, I love you today, and I thank you for our people, and I thank you for.
Those who are visiting with us today, thank you for all the work that's gone into today. And God, we have a whole lot to be thankful for. And Lord, I pray that you would help us. God, I pray you'd help tonight. The cast and all those that work, the people that are behind the scenes that do the lighting and the sound, all those things.
Lord, I pray that you would bless. I wish we could just honor and do something for every one of them. But Lord, you're going to do that. And God, today, if there's anyone here not saved, and maybe they didn't even get saved as we gave opportunity, help them to know I'm here, I'll be glad to talk to them. Lord, we love you.
And Lord, because of what you've done, may we stand. and become so overwhelmed by the fact that you came to me, not just to us, but to me. That it ought to make us Want to shout. We love you. In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen. I want to ask you to stand. We're going to sing this medley together again. As soon as they're done, you'll be dismissed. You can go sing it as to the Lord today, if you would.
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the earth hear his voice. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the people rejoice. Oh, come to the Father through Jesus the Son, and give him the glory, great things he has done. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the earth hear his voice, praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the people rejoice. Oh, come to the Father through Jesus the Son, and give the Lord.
Him the glory, great things he has done for all that you've done. I will thank you for all that you're going to do, for all that you've promised, and all that you are, is all that has carried me through. Jesus, I thank you and I thank you, thank you, Lord, thank you, thank you, Lord. Thank you for loving and setting me free. Thank you for giving your life just for me.
How I thank you, Jesus. I thank you gratefully thank you and I thank you Thank you for loving and setting me free Thank you for giving your life just for me how I thank you Jesus I thank you Gratefully thank you Thank you and I thank you, Jesus. I thank you and I think about the Lord, how he saved me, how he raised me, how he filled me with the Holy Ghost, how he healed me to the uttermost. And I think about the Lord, how he picked me up and turned me around, how he placed my feet on solid ground and makes me warm and shy. Hallelujah.
Thank you, Jesus. Lord, you're worthy of all the glory and all the honor and all the praise. It makes me wanna shout: Hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus, Lord. You're worthy of all the glory and all the honor and all the praise.
When I think about the Lord, how he saved me, how he raised me, how he filled me with the Holy Ghost, how he healed me to the uttermost. When I think about the Lord, how he picked me up and turned me around, how he placed my feet on solid ground. It makes me want to shout. Hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus.
Lord, you're worthy of all the glory and all the honor and all the praise. It makes me want to shout. Hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus. Lord, you're worthy of all the glory.
Thank you for listening and all the glory shouts. The Kerwin Baptist Church is located at 4520 Old Hollow Road in Kernersville, North Carolina. You may also contact us by phone at 336-993-5192. or via the web. at Kerwin Baptist Church.com.
Enjoy our services live and all our media on our website and church app. Thank you for listening to the Kerwin Broadcast today. God bless you.
