From His Heart

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Today on From His Heart with Pastor Jeff Shreve, we'll be introduced to the stranger in the Manger.

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Jesus came to die for your sin and for my sin, to die and to rise again from the dead. And he came to offer us the gift of eternal life.

Why is he called the Everlasting Father? Because he's the Father of eternity. And he offers to you and to me a gift, the greatest gift that anybody could ever have. And that's the gift of eternal life.

What is your response to Jesus? There is treasure, there is blessed love. There is hope that you always bring love. He can heal every scar with real truth, real love, and real hope from his heart.

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Our question today is this: Who is this stranger in the manger they called Jesus? Or, as the Christmas carol asks, what child is this? Well, Pastor Jeff will share three simple insights about this baby called Jesus, but they're critical because if we don't get these correct, we'll miss Christianity by a million miles.

This is From His Heart with Pastor Jeff Shreve. Thank you for joining us today for the lesson "When God Became Man." It's from Pastor Jeff's series, "What a Beautiful Isaiah's Description of the Promised Messiah." Now, this is the second lesson in this timely Christmas series we're airing this month. You can find out more about it or catch up on any of the messages you may have missed when you go to promisheart.org and click the listen link if you can.

Now, though, open your Bible to the ninth chapter of Isaiah. Here again is Pastor Jeff to explain the truth about when God became man.

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Isaiah, who wrote 700 plus years before the birth of Christ, said this: "For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us, and the government will rest on his shoulders, and his name will be called, will be proclaimed. Wonderful counselor, Mighty God, eternal Father, Prince of peace." Our question for today is, who is this stranger in the manger? He is Jesus. And Jesus is the Son of Man. The Son of Man. That's what Jesus liked to call himself, the Son of Man. We read that phrase, the Son of Man, in the Gospels 84 times. Son of Man, 82 of them are Jesus speaking of himself.

Jesus was obviously human. The people all knew he was human. I mean, you could see him, you could touch him, you could talk to him, you could pinch his skin. He was obviously human, and nobody had a problem with that. Everybody knew that he was human. But after his ascension into heaven, heresy began to come into the church in the form of Gnosticism. From the Greek word to know, gnosis, to know. So they say Jesus wasn't a man; he just appeared to be a man. There are many verses in the Bible that contradict that, obviously, but Colossians and First John really zero in on that. John said this in 1 John, chapter 4: "Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus has come in the flesh is not from God. This is the spirit of Antichrist." Very, very important to know that Jesus is human.

And because the Lord Jesus was human, he knows by experience what it's like to be human. But insight number two, Jesus is the Son of God, not like me and not like you. He is different from you and me because he is God as well as man. And he's not half God and half man; he's all God and all man at the same time. There will never be another like Jesus. He is unique. Mary, his mother, when she was just a young girl engaged to Joseph, betrothed to Joseph, had a visit from the angel Gabriel. Gabriel told her that she was going to be the mother of the Messiah. She said, "How can this be since I'm a virgin?" The angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. And for that reason, the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God."

Now, Son of Man refers to his humanity; Son of God refers to his deity. Five times in Scripture, Jesus referred to himself as the Son of God. Most of the time, 82 times, he's talking about himself as the Son of Man, but he's also the Son of God. Now, the Son of God is another way of saying your God, your deity; Son of Man refers to humanity, Son of God refers to deity. And so I want you to see the proofs of his deity. Because so many people come to church and they believe that Jesus is God, but they don't know how to defend that Jesus is God. If some cultist comes to your door and tries to tell you that Jesus is not co-equal with God the Father, that he is something lesser than God, you don't know how to combat that with Scripture.

Just as in the end of the first century and the second century, they denied the humanity of Christ, in the world in which we live, the false Jehovah's Witnesses and the Mormons and people like that deny the deity of Christ. Jesus said, "Unless you believe I am he, you will all die in your sins." To say, "Well, you know, I think Jesus is a good teacher," or "That's not an option." I think Jesus is a great moral leader. That's not an option. Jesus is the Son of God and God the Son. Those things, Son of God and God the Son, are synonyms; they mean the same.

As we unfold this, Isaiah says his name's going to be called the mighty God, El Gabor. It's kind of a strengthening term. El means strong, and gabor means strong and mighty and valiant and a warrior. That's who he is. He's the mighty God. He's the everlasting Father. Not that he's God the Father, but that he is the Father of eternity. From everlasting to everlasting, he is God, the Father of eternity.

So let's look at some things about him. Number one, he was born of a virgin. That is very plain. That is very clear in Scripture. Born of a virgin, just as Gabriel told Mary, that was the way it was going to be. Now, some people will deny that. The liberal theologians say, "Oh, no, no, you can't." But born of a virgin? Come on, that would never happen. And so they try and just, you know, that's really not very important. Born of a virgin. Let me tell you, it's critically important. Critically important. Because if you don't believe Jesus was born of a virgin, you don't believe Luke chapter one. And if you don't believe Luke chapter one, what other chapters do you not believe in?

So you put yourself in a position where you say, "No, God's word is wrong; my understanding is better." Jesus wasn't born of a virgin. He was born of a virgin; it says he was born of a virgin. Furthermore, if he's not born of a virgin, then that means Mary is an immoral woman who had sex with Joseph or somebody else before she was married to Joseph. That would be a terrible thing. The mother of our Lord is an immoral person who had sex outside of wedlock. And you know, that's what they said about Jesus. In John chapter eight, they said, "We were not born of fornication, were we?" When he was arguing with the Jews, they used that against him because they said, "Well, Jesus was born before she was married to Joseph. He's the illegitimate kid." And they would use that as a slur.

If Jesus isn't born of a virgin, then the Bible's not true. Then Mary is an immoral person. And let me tell you something else. If Jesus isn't born of a virgin, then Jesus is born in Adam. He has a human father, just like you do, just like I do. And if Jesus is born in Adam, we're in big trouble. Why? Because First Corinthians, chapter 15 says, "In Adam all die." Here's the progression: if Jesus isn't born of a virgin, then Jesus isn't sinless. No virgin birth, no sinless life. Because you're born with a sinful nature. If he's born with a sinful nature, just like you and me, then you can't be sinless. No virgin birth, no sinless life. No sinless life, no atonement on the cross.

As it says in Psalm 49, "No man can by any means redeem his brother or give to God a ransom for him. For the redemption of his soul is costly." It takes an unblemished lamb to redeem his soul. No virgin birth, no sinless life. No sinless life, no atonement. No atonement, no forgiveness of sins. No forgiveness of sins, no hope of heaven. No hope of heaven means everybody throughout the ages is going to die and go to hell. All because if you don't believe the virgin birth took place, then everything collapses in Christianity, and your hope of heaven collapses like a house of cards. Jesus was born of a virgin.

Secondly, Jesus had authority over all things. He's the mighty God. He's over everything. He has power over everything. He has authority over everything. We see that in his ministry; he had authority over disease. He basically eradicated disease out of Israel during his three and a half year ministry. He's healing the sick everywhere he goes. He is cleansing the leper. He is giving sight to the blind, opening up the ears of the deaf. He is doing miracle after miracle after miracle. So many of them physical healings. He has power and authority over disease. He has power and authority over demons. He would cast out demons, and every time he cast out demons, they would cry out and say, "You are the Son of God. We know who you are. You're the Holy One of God."

He had authority over death. He raised Jairus' daughter from the dead. She was freshly dead, still warm, but he raised her up from the dead. He raised up the widow of Nain's son. He was in the casket; they were getting ready to bury him. He touched the casket and raised that guy from the dead. He went to Lazarus' tomb, four days dead Lazarus, and he raised him up from the dead. "Lazarus, come forth!" Authority over disease, authority over demons, authority over death, authority over natural disasters, over storms.

Two times in the Scripture, Jesus was in a storm on the Sea of Galilee. The first time he's with the disciples. Mark chapter four records this as well as Matthew chapter eight. He's in the boat; he's asleep in the boat. The storm is raging. The guys thought they were going to go under. They wake Jesus up and said, "Master, don't you care that we're perishing?" He being aroused leaves the back of the boat, comes to the front of the boat, and says, "Hush, be still." And that fast, the storm was calm. That fast. You know, raging water, you can stop a storm, but the water's still moving. He shut it all down immediately, just with the power of his word. The disciples said, "Who then is this that even the wind and the sea obey his voice?"

I knew he had power over death. I knew he had power over disease. I knew he had power to cast out demons. We didn't know he could do this. The next time, in Matthew chapter 14, they're in a boat on a stormy sea at night. Jesus isn't with them; Jesus sent them along, and they are straining at the oars. It's about 3 o'clock in the morning, and all of a sudden they see Jesus walking on the water. They think it's a ghost, and they cry out for fear. You remember that story? Jesus said, "Don't be afraid; it is I." Literally, "I am." Peter said, "Lord, if it's really you, ask me to come to you on the water." Jesus said, "Come." Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water to go to Jesus.

As we know, he took his eyes off Jesus, got afraid, and began to sink. Jesus picked him up and said, "Oh ye of little faith, why did you doubt?" He carried him back to the boat, and when they got into the boat, the Bible says, "And they worshiped him and said, 'Of a truth, you are the Son of God.'" The Son of God and God the Son; those mean the same thing. And they worshiped him. Well, they knew you're not supposed to worship a man; you only worship God. The wise men worshiped Jesus at his birth. They fell down, opened their treasures, and worshiped him. The man in John chapter nine who had been blind since birth, when Jesus opened his eyes, that man worshiped Jesus. Doubting Thomas, when he saw the Lord, the Lord said to him, "Hey, put your finger in my hands and put your hand in my side and be not unbelieving, but believing." He fell down and said, "My Lord and my God," and he worshiped him.

Jesus is the mighty God who has authority over all things. Lastly, he openly proclaimed that he was God. Some people will tell you, the false cultists will tell you that, "Well, Jesus is the Son of God, but he's not God." Listen, saying you're the Son of God, in the minds of the first-century Jew, was saying you are God. Anytime Jesus said he was the Son of God, they got their hackles up and got upset.

In John chapter 8 and John chapter 10, there are two stories of Jesus declaring beyond any shadow of any doubt that he was God. When he told them about Abraham, they really revered Abraham. He said, "Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he was glad because he saw it." They said, "Have you seen Abraham? You're not yet 50 years old. How can you say that you've seen Abraham?" He said, "Before Abraham was born, I am." That's the name of God in the Old Testament, Exodus chapter three. That's the name that God gave Moses at the burning bush: "Who shall I say sent me to Egypt? You tell them I am sent you. I am who I am. Tell them I am sent you." And Jesus said, "Before Abraham was born, I am."

What did they do? They picked up stones to stone him. Leviticus chapter 24, verse 16, says this: "The punishment for blasphemy is death, and the people, the congregation, will stone you with stones." In John chapter 10, Jesus was teaching, and he said to the people, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish, and no one is able to snatch them out of my hand." Here you are, and you're a believer in Jesus, and you're in his hand. He says, "No one is able to snatch them out of my hand." He said, "My Father, who is greater than all, has given them to me, and no one is able to snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one."

The people again picked up stones to stone him. Jesus said, "I've shown you many good works from the Father, for which are you going to stone me?" They said, "For a good work, we do not stone you, but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself out to be God." You know why they crucified the Lord Jesus Christ? Do you know what the charge against him was? Blasphemy. Blasphemy. When they brought him to Pilate, Pilate didn't want to crucify Jesus. When he had scourged him and beaten him to a pulp and ripped his back open, he brought him before the people and said, "Behold the man." They said, "Crucify him! Crucify him!" Pilate said, "Take him yourself and crucify him. I find no fault in him." They said to Pilate, "We have a law, and by that law he deserves to die because he said he's the Son of God."

Son of God, God the Son, mighty God—all those are the same. Jesus openly proclaimed that he was God, and that's why they nailed him to a tree. He's the Son of Man. He's the Son of God. He's as much God as though he were not man at all. He's as much man as though he were not God at all. Very God of very God, very man of very man. He's the God-man.

And thirdly, he's the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. This God became a man. And why did he come into this world? He came into this world to take away the sin of the world, to communicate with you and me, to show us the Father. You know, that's what they said in John chapter 14: "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough." Philip, have I been so long with you and you don't know me? If you've seen me, you've seen the Father because I'm the exact representation of his nature. I'm the image of the invisible God. And I came to die on the cross to take away the sin of the world.

Son of God and Son of Man, Jesus came into this world. As the song says, he was born in the shadow of a tree. The shadow of a tree. Ever present was the knowledge he would be hanging on a tree—the tree of Calvary. Behold, John said, "The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." Jesus came to die for your sin and for my sin, to die and to rise again from the dead. He came to offer us the gift of eternal life.

Why is he called the Everlasting Father? Because he's the Father of eternity. He offers to you and to me a gift—the greatest gift that anybody could ever have, and that's the gift of eternal life. Now, listen. Suppose I were to get you a very expensive gift, a gift that cost. The gift that God gave to us cost so much. It didn't cost him gold and silver; it cost him his precious blood, the blood of His Son. He offers this gift to you and me. If I were to offer you a gift that cost me so much, and I were to say, "I have a gift for you that's from my heart," and you were to say, "Thanks, but no thanks, I don't want it. I don't want your gift. I don't care how much you spend on it; I don't want it." Or maybe you say, "Well, okay, thanks," and you just throw it in a drawer and you never open it. It's just this gift that, "Oh yeah, somebody gave me that. I don't even know what it is. I didn't even bother to open it."

That's what people do all the time with God and the gift of eternal life. They blow him off. They say, "I'm not interested." They say, "Oh, give it to someone else." The greatest gift of all—the gift of having your sins forgiven, the gift of having God come to live inside of you through His Holy Spirit, the gift of having the Lord, the mighty God, live inside, who can change you from the inside out, the gift of having God take a poor, wrecked, worthless sinner and change him and change her into a brand new creation. And you say, "No, I don't want that."

Listen, the Lord is here today, and he offers the gift of eternal life to anyone and to everyone who will come in repentance and faith. If you'll come in repentance and faith, this gift of eternal life will be yours. And Jesus, the Son of God and the Son of Man, will come to dwell in you, and he'll be with you every day of your life. When your life is over, he'll take you to glory so that where he is, there you may be also. What is your response to Jesus?

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Will you surrender your life to your Creator, to the One who bled and died for you, so that you could live eternally in heaven with a perfect holy God? If that sounds like too much to commit to right now, much less comprehend what that would mean to your life, then we cordially and urgently invite you to simply go to fromisheart.org. Click the "Why Jesus" link on our homepage. There, in the privacy of your own home, you'll be able to read about who Jesus is, why he came, the big lie about Jesus that people fall for all the time, and what it means to be born again. You will also find information on the validity of the Bible, how to know God, how to grow in Christ, how to know God's plan for your life, and how to have a wonderful life no matter the circumstances you may face. These are very important questions that you need answers to. Just go to fromisheart.org and click the "Why Jesus" link.

The Bible says, "Seek and you will find." And when you do, you'll discover that the Holy Spirit will come into your heart, and you'll never be the same. That's a promise. You know, people everywhere are asking deeper questions about faith, purpose, identity, truth, and more. They're scrolling and scrolling, searching and yearning for something real. And we have the answers. One of them is that when you put daily time into God's Word each day, you'll discover courage, comfort, and a more compassionate heart to tell others about Him.

To help you do that, Pastor Jeff has a special year-end gift he wants to give you for your support this month of any amount from his heart. It's a beautiful, high-quality daily devotional book called "The Heart is God's Home." This inspiring book, written by 39 pastors and church leaders including Pastor Jeff, will help you draw closer to the Lord so you can live every single day knowing He is with you. It's a beautiful keepsake book when you give your best gift before December 31st.

To get the book "The Heart Is God's Home," call 866-40-BIBLE (866-40-BIBLE) or go online to fromisheart.org. I'm Larry Nobles, inviting you to be here tomorrow for the next inspiring Christmas lesson from Pastor Jeff's series, "What a Beautiful Isaiah's Description of the Promised Messiah." That's when Pastor Jeff Shreve will open up God's Word and share real truth, real love, and real hope. From His heart, there is tremendous truth.

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There is hope that you always dream Love he can heal me every scars True real love, real hope from his heart.

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From his heart is the listener supported Broadcast Ministry of Dr. Jeff Shreve speaking the truth in love to a lost and a hurting world. Remember, no matter what, God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. Find out more@fromisheart.org.