Heaven’s Message To Mary & Caroling Service

Well, we want to welcome you tonight to Lighthouse and we're so glad to have you with us this evening and what a joy it is to be able to gather together in celebration of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. While you're standing there, if you want to go ahead and turn your Bibles to the Gospel of Luke, the Gospel of Luke, we're going to jump right into our sermon tonight. And if you're visiting tonight, we're so glad to have you with us. Also, at the very end of service, we're going to be gathering together up front, as Brother Aaron said, we're going to be doing some Christmas songs.

We had some shut ins last year and different folks who said they just cried hearing those songs and such a blessing. So we want to be able to provide that opportunity again in just a great time to sing to the Lord. And so also this Sunday, our service will be at 10 a.m. We don't have an early or late service.

It'll just be one big combined service. So 10 a.m. will be our service time on Sunday. We'll get you out of here by no later than eleven thirty.

So you'll be able to get to your grandma's or mom's or whoever's for lunch and you'll be in time for nap at noon. Right. Eleven thirty.

About two o'clock. Everybody be down. Right.

All right. Well, Luke chapter number one's our text tonight. We're going to read verse twenty six down to thirty eight.

And I'm excited to share some of these truths with you tonight and really excited about Sunday sermon as well. Chapter one, verse twenty six says, And in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee named Nazareth to a virgin, a spouse to a man whose name was Joseph of the House of David. And the Virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her and said, Hail, thou art highly favored. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women. She saw him.

She was troubled at his saying and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary, for thou has found favor with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb and bring forth the son and shall call his name Jesus. He shall be great and shall be called the son of the highest. And the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father, David. And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever and of his kingdom. There shall be no end. Then Mary's sin said, Mary, unto the angel. How shall this be?

Seeing I know not a man. And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee in the power of the highest shall overshadow thee. Therefore, also that holy thing which shall be born in thee of thee shall be called the son of God. And behold, thy cousin, Elizabeth. She also has conceived a son in her old age.

And this is the sixth month with her who was called Baron. Verse 37, if you read with me for with God, nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, Behold, the handmaid of the Lord, be it unto me according to thy word, and the angel departed from her. Father, your word is just a joy to read. We thank you as we reflect upon the glory of Christmas because of the Christ of Christmas. We pray that your blessing would be upon the reading and the preaching of your word. I pray our hearts would be open to receive this wonderful truth tonight. And I pray that we could lift up our voices in song and celebration of Jesus Christ. We praise God for the two souls that called out to Christ today for salvation already. And for the six that were Sunday night at the JDC who called out to Christ and others this week, we celebrate your goodness. And we pray if anyone today doesn't know Jesus is Lord, that today they might come and confess Christ as their Lord and Savior. We ask it in Jesus name, and God's people said, and you may be seated tonight. Well, you're going to hear me preach a shorter than normal sermon tonight. You say I believe it when I see a preacher. So afterwards, we're then going to be singing and then heading over.

We got some refreshments over in the youth center, so it'll be a good time tonight to fellowship as well. But tonight, I want to turn our attention to this passage in Luke, chapter number one. And Luke chapter one is a unique time in history. It comes after 400 years of silence. There was no open visions from God.

There were no prophets preaching after the end of Malachi. There have been 400 years of silence. And then you have Earth interrupted with message after message from heaven. First, an angel comes to Gabriel or the angel Gabriel comes to an older man named Zacharias. And chapter number one of Luke and lets him know that you're going to have a son who's going to be John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, the promise of Isaiah 40. The second message the angel brings is here to Mary in chapter number one. And then they come the third time to some shepherds on a hillside the night of Jesus's birth. And tonight, I want to key in on this second message that heaven sends.

And I believe when heaven speaks, Earth should listen, right? And this is this is a message that God brings to us through his word. And and so here is the story of Gabriel, who is an angel sent by God to deliver. Really is the most amazing news any person has ever heard that God is going to be born into the world. Then to hear that you as a young girl who is still a virgin would conceive this child by supernatural means.

And you would raise the son of God that this child would be the promised Messiah and savior of the world. Then to hear that your cousin, Elizabeth, who had been barren all her life, who's an older lady at this time, conceived a child in her old age, and he's even six months pregnant at this time. And this is just an incredible season of life for Mary and really the world. And so five truths I want to pull from these 13 verses in the first we find in verse 26 and seven. And it's a great message from God that tells us in verse number 26 and in the sixth month.

And that that speaks of the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy. And this right before this verse 26 is is the story of Gabriel coming to Zacharias and Elizabeth, letting them know that they're going to have the the forerunner of the Messiah. And it says the angel Gabriel was sent from God.

The only time names of angels are found in the Old Testament is in the book of Daniel. Daniel Chapter eight, verse 16 mentions Gabriel by name and also Michael Daniel 10 and 12 speak about him. Gabriel's name means the strong one or the hero of God.

So this is a mighty angel of God. Six months prior, he had been sent by God again to Zacharias. And it says here, Gabriel was sent from God in Luke Chapter one, verse 19. Gabriel identifies himself to Zacharias as he said, I am Gabriel that stand in the presence of God. So Gabriel literally comes from the very throne room of God to deliver this message.

Do you think you would want to hear what he had to say, knowing where he came from? Who would this message come to? What great person and city on Earth would would be the recipient of such a divine message? And it tells us here, Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee named Nazareth. Now, what kind of town was Nazareth? We think of a city differently than what we would think of Nazareth. Nazareth was really just a small village with only a few hundred people.

It was located about 75 miles north of Jerusalem. Very obscure, insignificant small town, not not even mentioned anywhere in the Old Testament, nowhere in the Jewish Talmud, which are the rabbi's writings and teachings. Or it was not even spoken of by Josephus, which was a the most famous Jewish historian. And so it's just a very obscure town. It's not even mentioned in the Old Testament.

It's important to note Nazareth was bypassed by all the major trade routes. It was an insignificant city. Also, it was located in an area. It was close to Gentiles, and so they call it Galilee of the Gentiles in Matthew 4 15. And I think it's interesting that God picked the place where the savior of the world would be born as being a very insignificant town.

A place with no significance. He didn't send his son to Athens or Greece or Rome. He sent his son to be born in Nazareth. That's why the the rabbis and the Pharisees said nothing good has come out of Nazareth.

They put Nazareth down. And so God didn't send his son to the powerful, to the elite. But he sent him to a place where Jews and Gentiles were the Galilee of the Gentiles, it was called. So praise God for his arms that are open to all people.

Right. And it says not only was he sent to Galilee, but verse 27 says to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph. The word virgin there is the Greek from the Greek word parthenos, and it refers to a person who's never had sexual relations. And you would describe somebody with that word who had never been married among Jewish practice. Girls would be betrothed as young as 12 and 13 and then married one year later.

This is a young teenage girl. I know that sounds weird in our culture, but you need to understand that we've created. And I don't need to get on a rabbit show here in the last hundred years, what's known as the adolescent years. That is basically a period of time where kids remove many of their typical responsibilities that mankind carried for almost all of human history. And so we have a season where kids play games or play sports and do activities all throughout humanity. Kids would like work. They would do things. They learn to trade. They they labored along. That's why when you talk to your grandparents who had, what, 10 kids and you ask them, how did it go? They said, everybody what pitched in, right? The kids were plowing fields by 10, 11 years old.

They were doing work. They grew up very fast back in the day. And so today you have a 22 year old that can't do that. I won't want to get into some of this right now. I'm going to get myself in trouble.

You know, there is God's box and there's you know, so we talked about that Sunday, right? So she is young and she's a spouse to a man whose name was Joseph. The word espouse there is the idea that they were legally married in every way except for the sexual intimacy.

They basically would espouse themselves. It was a legal document that was signed and they were betrothed. The husband would go away, prepare the home.

There would be a one year lapse between the betrothal and the actual marriage ceremony and then the consummation of that marriage. So it was a time to validate the girl's purity. It was a time to also prepare a place for her. Don't you see that in John 14? Jesus says, I go to prepare a place for you. And when I prepare a place, I'll come again and receive you into myself.

Right. And that's that's marriage language. And Christ is the groom. The church is the bride.

And you see that picture. But here it says in the Virgin's name was Mary. Her name was Mary. She's a spouse to Joseph. Joseph was actually a descendant of King David. He had actually the right to the throne. There was an Edomite sitting on the throne at the time named King Herod. And so God sends his mighty angel with a great message to a young Jewish girl in an obscure little town of Nazareth. That's just incredible.

And what you find by that simple statement in verse 26 and seven is that God is no respecter of persons. Doesn't matter where you came from, how much money you have, what kind of stock of a family stock you came from. It doesn't matter your finances, doesn't matter your employment, doesn't matter your race, your color, none of that stuff.

And really, there are there is only one race, the human race. Right. Can you imagine receiving a personal message from God? Mary's going to receive a great message from God, a personal message from God.

And what an incredible thing. But you know, the truth is, we all have received the personal message from God found in the word of God. Mary only had the Old Testament, then a brief visit from an angel. We have the entire Old Testament and the entire New Testament.

We have the full life of Christ. We have his desire for the church unfolded. His second coming clearly stated the New Testament has lifted the veil of the Old Testament.

And the Bible is God's personal message for all of us. We have so much more revelation than Mary ever had. God has spoken through his word to us more than what Mary had. The Bible tells us that his word is alive in Hebrews chapter four, verse 12.

And so we see the great messenger. Secondly, the great favor of God. Verse twenty eight. It says, And the angel came in unto her and said, Hail.

The word hail there means to rejoice, be glad. And he says, Thou art highly favored. The Lord is with thee.

The phrase highly favored means you are pursued with grace, compassion and favor. You're highly favored by God. He has great grace and compassion on you. You are very blessed by God. And then he says, And the Lord is with thee. Anybody ever needed to hear those words?

The Lord is with thee. You know, in the Bible, Mary's parents are never mentioned. That's an extremely odd thing.

Extremely. I don't know that we as Americans, especially we don't comprehend the significance of this. Because all through the Bible, genealogies are listed in the names of family lines are extremely significant. You know this if you read the Old Testament. You know this when you get to the Book of Numbers. You're like, Preacher, I'm reading through the Bible. I'm like, Good.

What book you on? You're like Exodus. I'm like, Keep going. You get into Leviticus and they're like, Boy, there's a lot there. Then they get into numbers and say, Preacher, do I have to read everything?

That's how it goes. I think you could probably speed read some of those things. It's good to read through them at least once underlying the key characters. So you kind of see them in the narrative. But don't let that stop you. A lot of people have never read Deuteronomy, which is like a fantastic relief, isn't it?

When you get through numbers. We love all the Bible, but Deuteronomy is rich. Jesus quoted Deuteronomy more than any Old Testament book.

That's just extra. Okay, so but she's her family's never mentioned. Elcot's commentary said the absence of any mention of her parents suggests the thought that she was an orphan. And the whole narrative of the nativity priest presumes great poverty. Very likely, Mary could have been an orphan, and we know that she didn't have much resource because of how she ended up.

And in Bethlehem, they just didn't have a lot. So this girl may have looked poor and lowly to the world, but God made her rich with favor. And God said, You're blessed among women. Blessed art thou among women.

This passage is equivalent to saying thou are the most happy of women. Heaven's message to Mary is rejoice because God's favor is with you because the Lord is with you and you are blessed among all women. What does God give to this young girl who is favored by God, by the God of heaven and earth? What gift does he give her to show his favor upon her?

Luke one thirty one notice. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb and bring forth the sun and shall call his name Jesus. And so the favor of God that showed up in Mary's life showed up as the child Jesus in her womb.

That was the favor. The great favor of God brought Jesus into her life. God's favor revealed Christ in her.

You know, everyone here today needs to understand this amazing truth. You are highly favored of God. You are blessed beyond measure because the Lord is with you. If you are a child of God, you are saved.

He is not only with you, but he is in you. You say, but we are not Mary. She was highly favored, special, different. God doesn't see me as important as her. Luke Chapter eight, verse 20 says this. And it was told him by certain, which said thy mother and thy brother stand without desiring to see thee.

This is when Jesus actually launched his public ministry about 30 years from this time, 31 years. And he answered and said unto them, because they're outside like, hey, what's Jesus doing? You know, he's he's rounding up crowds of thousands.

What's he doing? Even his people from his town were trying to get him to stop. They're like, he's lost his mind, like bringing back home because they didn't believe in him. His mother and brothers show up and they're like, Jesus, come down from there. You know, come here. And and they're trying to pull him away.

Basically, what he what he was doing and listen to how he responds. They said, your mom and your brother are standing out desire to see you. And he answered and said to them, my mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God and do it.

Really? Well, that kind of puts Mary in a humbled place, doesn't it? The the the worship of Mary or the elevation of Mary, Mary is is highly favored among women, not highly favored above women. It's important to know she was born with sin. She lived as a sinner.

You got saved by her son. She said, I rejoice in God, my savior. Later in Luke Chapter one, now Mary should be honored. She should be looked at as in an honorable way, but she in no way should ever be prayed to, venerated in any way. There should be no image of Mary put up. Mary would rebuke such a thing. You and Pope John Paul the second was shot decades ago. You know what he said?

He cried out, save me, Mary, save me, Mary. That is terribly wrong. Say, well, you're speaking very offensive. No, I'm speaking very truthfully.

Very truthfully. Luke Chapter 11, he even repeats it three chapters later, and it came to pass as he spoke these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice and said, blessed is the womb that bear thee and the paps which thou has suck. I think the whole Catholic Church would have got behind that. And the woman is saying, how blessed your mother is that carried you in your in her womb. And we would all say she is how incredibly blessed she is. Verse 28. But he said, Yea, rather blessed are they that hear the word of God and keep it. More blessed than the woman who bore me and carried me and gave birth to me and nursed me are the people who hear the word of God and keep it. They're more blessed.

They're more favored by God. That's incredible. You're literally sitting here tonight, highly favored by God as you hear the word of God and keep it. More so than Mary. Is that fantastic?

That's overwhelming. That's not out of the mouth of some preacher or person that's out of the mouth of Christ over and over again. So when we come to church, should we have ears to hear?

Oh, you better believe it. We should come and say the word of God is precious. And I again in no way want to put Mary down. I just want to lift the savior up. There's no one to be worshiped. But Christ, they meant there's no one to be prayed to. But Christ, you do not pray to dead saints.

You do not pray to any other person. You pray to the father through the son. Jesus alone hears us. If you want God's favor, God's presence and his blessing upon your life, it's all wrapped up in Christ. It's all wrapped up in Jesus Christ.

Heaven's message is the favor and blessing of God comes through him. You recognized how much today you have in Christ. If you don't know, Jesus is your savior.

So I could be that now. You come and say, you know, I need Christ in my life. I need the Lord to be the lord of my life. Thirdly, we see the great child of Christmas.

Look at verse thirty two and thirty three. And the angel said, and he shall be great. If that phrase was ever used.

In an understated way, it was there. He shall be great. The only time that's ever been like, well, that's actually an understatement. That's the only time you could ever have said that human words cannot elevate the level of greatness of Christ. Everything he did was great. When he spoke, they said, we've never heard one a man speak like this man.

His works were astounding. He did miracles that were impossible. He made blind people see no one had ever healed blind people nowhere in the Old Testament that ever happened. He and that was a divine prerogative of the Messiah. The Bible says when the Messiah comes, he'll give sight to the blind. Nobody would ever do that but him. Jesus Christ raised dead people to life.

He traveled 17 miles on foot to the town of Nain. There was a widow whose husband had already died. She's bearing her young son. Jesus comes upon the funeral, says, stop the funeral procession, raises the child and delivers the child to his mom the very day he walked 17 miles just to get there.

I mean, who does this stuff? The miracles were out. The first sermon he ever preached in the town of Capernaum, a demon-possessed man stood up and said, I know who you are, Jesus, thou son of the Most High God. And Jesus said, be silent and called the demon right out of the guy on the spot.

I mean, this is incredible, magnificent things. Even the historian Josephus, who was not a Christian, who was a Pharisee, the chief historian among the Jews, wrote about this Jesus who did mighty works. He turned the world upside down. Everything he said, everything he did, his words have been the most pervasive words that has ever entered the world. The Gospels are the most powerful words that ever came on this planet and have been the most influential words that have ever been spoken since they came off his lips. You know, no book has shook the world like this book, and nothing's been attacked like this book. It's incredible, and it's almost comical.

The world wants to suppress it, and they're like, we just got to give up on this. I mean, we just keep bringing him up. I mean, you can't, he's an unstoppable force. The church doesn't die.

We win, right? Jesus says, because I have overcome, you can rejoice. I mean, his matchless death, he rose from the dead, which is so incredibly validated that you have atheists in our country who study out the resurrection and walk away believing in the Gospel because they said he had to have risen.

The facts are so irrefutable. His mercy, his grace, his love, his justice, his holiness. He shall be great, and he shall be called the son of the highest.

The Greek word hupusistos, it's also in line with the Hebrew word El Elyon. It's the most high God or the God most high. He shall be great, shall be called the son of the highest, and the Lord shall give him the throne of his father David. Verse 33, and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever in his kingdom. There shall be no end. That is divine sovereignty spelling out immovable future, fixed.

I'm telling you what's coming before it comes to pass. He owns the throne and will not be thwarted. Love that. Love that. I love that God's in the driver's seat. I love that no matter what Herod does, Judas does, Pilate does, Rome does, he cannot be stopped.

You and I can't stop him. I just had somebody tell me today that they're doing drag queen shows in libraries in Fairborn now. That's coming our way soon, right?

That's already on our porch. You know Sodom and Gomorrah has come to the nation, right? The things that I have seen, sometimes people send me stuff, I'm like, I don't want to see that.

I don't want to know that, but then I need to know what's going on. Then I read the scriptures and I'm like, yes, yes. Look at the world and you feel sick sometimes. You look at the word and you feel great all the time. Let me ask you, do you recognize how great Jesus is? If I were to ask the 10 closest people in your life and say, do they believe Jesus Christ is great? What would they say about you? Do the 10 closest people in your life even know you're a believer? If I were to come to the 10 closest people in your life, they didn't know you're a Christian, what do you think the verdict of your salvation really is? Let me ask you, if your child were a firefighter and they rescued somebody out of a fire, do you think you'd tell some people? Oh, yeah. Do you think if your son was a soldier, fought in Afghanistan, fought in Iraq, saved some people's lives, did some great things, do you think you would be proud of them and unashamedly talk at them?

Absolutely, and rightfully so. I remember when my father-in-law retired as a police officer and he saved a lady's life. Right before he got out, there was a fire and got her out of a house.

Candace, my wife, was just so thrilled and had shared that with some people. He's like, don't say it. He's just real humble about it. We just do what we're supposed to do.

This is what we're supposed to do. It's right to be excited when you see people in your life that do heroic, great things that are just like, that's fantastic. But shouldn't we boast of Christ? I mean, who's accomplished more than Him? How could we not tell somebody, hey, you know Jesus Christ is Lord. He died for you. He rose again.

How awesome is He? Fourthly, just do more things and we'll be done. I know that's shocking. The great power of God, verse 34 through 38, Mary questions like this. And I love this because she's asking a... She's doing what my mind would have done. How should this be? Let me rephrase that. In our world today, I've got to really make stuff clear. This is something like my wife would ask.

How should this be, seeing I know not a man? And you know what I love is Gabriel's answer is like, you know, I'm not really sure. I didn't fill me in on all those details. Gabriel doesn't leave a void here. Just trust heaven for the answer. Gabriel doesn't do that. Gabriel like goes into the detail.

He's like the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, the power of the highest shall overshadow thee, therefore also that holy thing, or the holy, not really could be translated holy one as well, which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. You know, in heaven, God's like Gabriel, she may ask how this is going to happen. Gabriel's like, well, what should I say? I'm not sure how that conversation, I don't want to be lied about it, but obviously heaven's prepared with answers, right? Was Jesus ever caught off guard like, you know, I'm not quite sure. That's a really good question.

I'm gonna have to get back to you on that. He was so superior that he would ask a question that made them drop their mouth in silence. He would say things that were so stunning. I mean, the question about the taxes, how do you even come up with a response like that?

This book had to be written by God. These men were fishermen. They could not even have conceived a response like that. They came with the most ingenious questions ever.

Should we pay taxes? Let me see your coin. Whose image and superscriptions on it? Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar unto God the things that are God's. They walk away in dumb silence and these fishermen are like.

You know. There were there were seven brothers who had a and they all had her and they go into this story, the Sadducees do because they don't believe in the resurrection. And Jesus says, what does the Bible say?

Have you never read? Before Abraham was, I am, and they're all like, whoa, nobody saw that coming. I mean, on the spot, he didn't have any preparation, and he he answers it in the most ingenious way possible. Who who but fishermen could have contrived that story, right? I mean, this is this is God's book, and that just goes all through the Bible.

He's brilliant beyond measure, and he gives the right answer. And and so Jesus was fully human in every sense. And yet he has been the only child ever born into the world that was born sinless. Adam was created sinless, but Jesus was born sinless. And the importance of this is the virgin birth. Romans 512 says this. Wherefore, as by one man, sin entered into the world and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men for that all have sinned. Verse 36, and behold, thy cousin Mary, she had also conceived a son in her old age. The angel summation of these two miraculous conceptions is in verse 37.

For with God, nothing shall be impossible. Isn't this reminiscent of Abraham and Sarah? You remember?

Ninety nine year old Abraham in his prime. Still a twinkle in his eye, buddy. And Sarah's twinkle had gone.

Sometimes the lady's twinkle fades faster than the man's, but it faded in that situation. So. The Lord said, You're going to have a child this time next year. Abraham says, Well, that sounds all right. And Sarah's over in the tent laughing her head off. She's like, There's no way. Twinkle away, old man.

It ain't gonna happen. And you know what God says in Genesis 18? And the Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of surety bear a child which am old?

Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed, I will return unto thee according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son. Sovereign application. My will's coming.

I'm glorious. I withheld your womb for magnificence. He's coming to a woman. Think about this. He's coming in a culture that debased women to such a low level.

He comes and tells Mary before he tells Joseph. So what? What have you stopped believing God for? What is something you need to start believing God for?

What's an impossible situation maybe you've given up on? It just I think sometimes we need to remember nothing is impossible with God. You know, salvation is the most impossible thing for man.

Sin is worse than stage four cancer. God cured the most impossible problem we ever had. If God can save us, he can surely transform marriages, families. God can save Christian killers like Paul, who turn into a preacher.

Surely he can save anyone in our lives. And then we close with the fifth point, the great servant of God, verse thirty eight. This is such a beautiful verse.

I really just. Hold Mary up for her faith here. And Mary said, Behold, the handmaid of the Lord, be it unto me according to thy word, and the angel departed from her.

It's just beautiful. Behold, the handmaid of the Lord. Behold, God's servant. Be it unto me according to thy word.

You compare that. Look back in verse 20 of Chapter one. This is this is Zacharias, the priest Zacharias. Doing the offering of the Lord. The angel comes and says.

You're going to have a child. And look, actually, look at verse 18 in Zacharias said unto the angel, whereby shall I know this, for I am old and my wife. Look, well stricken in years.

That's a nice way to define your wife, isn't it? I mean, I may be old, but she's stricken. Verse 19, and the angel answering said unto him. I am Gabriel. How often do you have an angel show up, young man? I am Gabriel that stand in the presence of God and I'm sent to speak unto thee and to show thee these glad tidings. And behold, you want a sign, you won't be able to speak, young man. Until the day that they shall be performed, because thou has believed not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.

You did not believe them, but they will happen. This is God's will come to pass. You see it all through Scripture. You can't miss this. It's unstoppable glory.

Love it. We need this every day as we look at world sinking. We need to see the glory of God's sovereignty, even in the life of men like Zacharias, who didn't believe God's like, well, he doesn't really believe this, so we're going to have to find someone else. God's like, oh, it's going to happen and you're going to be humbled through it. Did Jonah figure that out?

Yeah, you can't thwart his plan. Praise God for his goodness. And so Zacharias doubts Mary believes. What is interesting, the first thing that comes off of Zacharias's mouth when the baby's born, he worships God. When doubt came out, God made him mute.

When he loosed his tongue, he gave praise. God can mute us if he wants to. Let us make sure we give him praise. Mary said, let it be unto me according to thy word. Let me ask you, as we wrap up, is that your response to God's word tonight? When God's word speaks to your heart, do you say, here is the handmaid, here is the servant of the Lord, be it unto me according to your word, God? What do you need to come and say, God, let your will be done in my life about? Do you know the Lord Jesus Christ is your savior? If you stood before God tonight, are you ready to meet the Lord?

Have you repented of your sins, trust in Christ? As we come to the end of the year, what do you need to turn over to the Lord? Talked about God's box in our box.

What do you need to really trust God for? We see a great message from God. God's great message says to us it's available for all people. God's favor is great, but his favor is available to us through his word and his son.

The child is great. Heaven's message comes through Christ. The power is great. There's nothing impossible for God, and the servant of God is great here in the sense that she humbled herself and was willing to do whatever God had. And so tonight, maybe you just want to come and spend a moment thanking God for his goodness. After our time of invitation, we'll invite everyone to come up and we'll have a time of singing. So let's all stand for just a moment. Give you a chance. If God spoke in your heart, you're welcome to come.

The invitation is open. With heads bowed, knives closed, maybe tonight you would say, you know, Pastor Josh, if I stood before God, I'm not sure Heaven's my home. And I'm not sure that I'm saved. If I were to stand before God, I'm not sure that I'm saved. And tonight could be the night that you could turn your life over to Jesus Christ.

There'd be no better night. And if you're a man, we have a man up front. If you're a lady, we have a lady that could pull you aside and share with you in the private setting of a room off the sanctuary here, where they could show you from the Word of God how you could know your life would be right with God, that you could know that you're saved.

Wouldn't that be the greatest decision of your life? Lord, here is your servant. Do unto me according to your word. Father, we thank you for your word tonight. What a joy it's been just to reflect upon some scripture.

It's just so refreshing and so rewarding. Thank you for the dear folks that are here tonight. Bless this invitation time. I pray if anyone doesn't know Christ, that this would be the night that they would come to know you as their Lord and Savior. Jesus name joy to the world. The Lord is come. Let earth receive her King.

Let every heart prepare him room. And heaven and nature sing. And heaven and nature sing. And heaven and heaven and nature sing. Joy to the world.

The Savior reigns. Let men their songs employ. Wild fields and floods.

Rocks, hills and plains. Repeat the sounding joy. Repeat the sounding joy.

Repeat, repeat the sounding joy. He rose the world with truth and grace. And makes the nation true. The glories of his righteousness. And wonders of his love. And wonders of his love.

And wonders, wonders of his love. O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant. O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem. Come and behold him, Lord the King of Angels. O come, let us adore him. O come, let us adore him. O come, let us adore him. Christ the Lord. Yea, Lord we greet thee.

Born this happy morning. Jesus to thee be all glory given. Word of the Father now in flesh appearing. O come, let us adore him. O come, let us adore him. O come, let us adore him. Christ the Lord.

Christ the Lord. The herald angels sing. Glory to the newborn King. Peace on earth and mercy mild.

God and sinner reconciled. Joyful all ye nations rise. Join the triumph of the skies. With angelic hosts proclaim. Christ is born in Bethlehem. Hark, the herald angels sing. Glory to the newborn King. Hail the healthful gifts of peace. Hail the son of righteousness. Light and life to all he brings.

Ripped with healing in his wings. Mild he lays his glory live. Born that dead before they die. Born to raise the sons of earth.

Born to give them second birth. Hark, the herald angels sing. Glory to the newborn King. God rest ye merry gentlemen, let nothing you dismay.

Remember Christ our Savior was born on Christmas day. To save us all from Satan's power when we were gone astray. O tidings of comfort and joy. Comfort and joy. O tidings of comfort and joy. From God our heavenly Father, a blessed angel came. And unto certain shepherds brought tidings of the same.

How that in Bethlehem was born the Son of God by name. O tidings of comfort and joy. Comfort and joy. O tidings of comfort and joy. O tidings of comfort and joy. From God our heavenly Father, a blessed angel came. And unto certain shepherds brought tidings of the same. This, this is Christ the King. Whom shepherds guard and angels sing. He says to bring him blood. The babe, the son of Mary.

Why might I see in such mean the same where rocks and land are feeding? Could Christian fear for sinners here the silent word is pleading? New spear shall pierce him through the cross reborn for me, for you. Hail, hail the Word made flesh. The babe, the son of Mary. The first Noel the angel did say. What's too certain for shepherds in fields as they lay.

In fields where they lay keeping their sheep on a cold winter's night that was so deep. Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel. Born is the King of Israel. They look it up and saw a star shining in the east beyond and far. And to the earth it gave great light and so it continued both day and night.

Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel. Born is the King of Israel. Silent night, holy night. All is calm, all is bright. Round yon virgin, mother and child.

Holy infant so tender and mild. Sleep in heavenly peace. Sleep in heavenly peace. Silent night, holy night. Son of God, love's pure light. Ray the beams from thy holy face with the dawn of redeeming praise. Jesus, Lord at thy birth. Jesus, Lord at thy birth. Silent night, holy night.

Wondrous star, lend thy light. With the angels let us sing Hallelujah to our King. Christ the Savior is born. Christ the Savior is born.

Amen. We hope you had a wonderful time singing these songs with us and we wish you all a very Merry Christmas from our family to yours at home. So join us as we sing this song. We wish you a Merry Christmas. We wish you a Merry Christmas. We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Good tidings we bring to you and your kin. Good tidings for Christmas and a Happy New Year. We wish you a Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas.