Transcript: Jesus Christ Born in the Manger - Rev Fred Proctor Sermon

and I want to take this opportunity to welcome you to brighterdaybaptistchurch.com this is Weber Fred Proctor Sr. a pastor and this is a virtual church and I guess a lot of people don't know what a virtual church is that's not saying anything bad against anyone but a virtual church is just like a regular church except there is no church building. We are coming from inside of a building and we're recording, video, audio, preaching the gospel. You can visit our site. If you have prayer requests or comment or whatever you'd like to make, you can do that. Just come to brighterdaybaptistchurch.com. And you'll see all the prompts there. Make a prayer request. Chat. Talk to us. Listen to sermons. Listen to gospel singing. Good songs. Good singing. And this is Christmas Day. December the 25th, 2021. And this is the most wonderful time of the year to me. It is Christmas. Because it is the birthday of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Hallelujah. Thank you Lord. And we have preaching every Sunday. Morning at 11 o'clock. Visit the church. Come in. You'll see it. Participate. Be a part of it. We just hope. Especially people that can't get out. Or don't want to get out and be around the bug and all this new stuff that's going on. We don't want you leaving your church. but if it's impossible or you just can't make it I invite you to visit with us and I believe that you will be blessed and I know because if I am watching someone preach or anything to do with the Bible I want to know who they are and what they believe well you can go on our beliefs and you will see that we believe and we have it written down. We use the Baptist faith and message, which is a Southern Baptist. And we are a conservative Southern Baptist church. All the churches I started preaching in 1962, started pastoring in 1967. I pastored all those years. I pastored eight different Southern Baptist churches. One I pastored for 20 years. The Southern Baptist is not perfect. Independent Baptist. None of them are perfect. But this is how I have been. and say, well, why don't you go with something else? No, I haven't found anything better than what I'm doing. And it's a way and a means. I know what I believe. You know what you believe. And we lift up the Lord Jesus Christ. Not us, not a denomination, but Jesus Christ. So, let's pray. Heavenly Father I thank you for this opportunity I thank you Oh God That you put this message In my soul Through the power of the Holy Spirit Help me to preach it To proclaim it To all the world Because all the world Can watch and listen And make up their mind About this message Get honor and glory out of it Thank you for this special day every year, your birthday, Lord Jesus. Thank you. In your holy name I pray, amen and amen. Now, Jesus has been born. This is the day that we celebrate his birth. And there was no room found for them. And Mary, his mother, was a virgin. And I've heard people say, there's just no way. There's no way that a virgin could give birth. Well, the Bible says that that which was conceived in Mary was of the Holy Ghost. So you tell him that there's no way. If you want to create an argument, you take it up with him. Joseph was not the father of Jesus. As a matter of fact, Jesus has always been. I don't understand it. No one understands it. the Trinity. And no one understands it. And if anyone tries to explain and say, well I know it, just turn them off because they don't. How could anybody understand God? We don't understand many things, but we believe Him. We believe Him and the reason that Jesus came and the reason that He came the way that he did was there was no other way. There was no other way. Now he could have destroyed all mankind and started over, but that is not in the plan of God. He created man. He created us. The way that he wanted to. And he wanted man and woman to love him and to serve him and to obey him. Well, you know what happened there in the Garden of Eden because God said you need out of any tree in this entire garden except that one tree in the center. Don't touch it. Don't eat it. Don't even touch it because if you do, you're going to die. And of course, they sinned And God made coverings. I think it was from the lamb. I don't know. But he covered them. But he drove them out of the garden. And we, everyone that's ever been born or ever will be born, except Jesus, has the same nature that we inherited from our first family. I tell people that's not in Washington, D.C. that's in the Garden of Eden where Adam and Eve sinned. And we are all descendants of Adam and Eve. So we are born with a sin nature. And people say, well, what do I need? What do I need with the Savior? Because the Bible says, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Listen, I'm going to be, I say it straight as I can. I say it in love, not in a sarcastic manner. There is no other way. I'm going to repeat this several times during this message. Do you see that little baby boy there in a manger? do you see that little baby boy wrapped in swaddling clothes and that's what they used to wrap a dead body in but that's all they had do you see that little baby boy in that cradle wrapped in swaddling clothes well I'm going to tell you something and again I do not say it in sarcasm I say it because it's truth. That little baby boy in that cradle wrapped in fodder and clothes, that is our only hope. That's Him. That's the entirety of God's salvation. It's all in Him. It's all wrapped up in Him. There was no other way. It had to be, some human had to pay the price, but it had to be a perfect human, I mean with blood in their veins that was perfect, sinless, no sin, no sin at all. Well, we know that the only person that's ever lived or ever will live that was perfect and had perfect blood in their body is that little baby. Do you see that little baby boy lying there in the manger? That is your hope. No wonder. No wonder. And I don't know. I used to not really. Well, I've always enjoyed Christmas. It's my favorite of all the holidays. Christmas is the favorite. but more and more down through the years I began to I think the Holy Spirit revealed this to me that every light every Christmas light that's lit up anywhere in the world or in space wherever it's at on the sea or underneath the sea anything everything that's lit up brings honor and glory to that little baby boy land there in that manger. That's him. So I went through this building. I turned on every light. I turned on the Christmas tree. I turned on every light that I could find. And I went out on the front of the building and turned the lights on. And I looked up the street and there was lights I looked down the street There was lights I looked across the street all the way over there in front There was lights And I said praise God I don't care if it's heathens. I don't care if it's Satan that's lighting up Christ's lights. It brings honor and glory to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. When people believe it or not, it points to that little baby boy right there in that cradle wrapped in swaddling clothes. That's him. That is the entirety of our salvation. There is no other way. Once Jesus became a man and started his ministry, I think he was about 30 years old, he started and he went and he was baptized and baptism does not save you, but I believe in it. The Bible teaches it. Yes, I was baptized into a Baptist church, West Court Street Baptist Church, by my first pastor that I remember, Reverend Ray Lowe. And I believe in it. I believe you ought to be baptized, if you can at all. I've baptized a lot of people. You converts, I believe in it. But the only way, the only way that we can have eternal life is from that little baby boy right there in the cradle. I think he looked just about like I'm sure he was a proper child I'm sure that he looked great but he looked like any other boy and he Jesus took on himself now listen I'm going to give you some scripture in the book of John chapter 1 verse 14 we read and the word became flesh Now Jesus is the Word. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God and Jesus. So, and the Word, listen, you don't know what the Word looks like. Of course, we have the Bible. But that there, do you see that little baby boy lying in a manger? That's him. That's the Word. That's what I'm reading about. Listen, and the Word became flesh. He had to come and be like us. He had to come in every way like us, yet sinless. He never sinned. He was tempted, sure, but he never yielded. He rebuked Satan and used the Word. He rebuked him three times using the Word. And the Word became flesh. That's him. That is that little baby boy. Right there. I don't have a cradle here. I don't have a baby doll or a baby. But in my mind, in my spiritual eyes, I see a little baby boy. Praise God, he has come. You know, the first promise that we have of a Savior, he's also called a Messiah. But the first promise is found in the book of Genesis 3.15. Just think, all those thousands of years since that first promise was made, people had been looking, I wonder if he'll come today. I wonder if he'll come. This might be the year that he'll come. And they watched and they watched and they watched and they waited. And finally, in the fullness of time, at the perfect time, because God is perfect and everything that he does is perfect. He makes no mistakes. In the fullness of time, God sent forth his Son, born of a virgin, conceived by the Holy Ghost. Perfect. I'm going to finish reading this verse. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory. Well, you look at that little baby boy there in the cradle, and we don't see anything that would cause us to think, that is Almighty God. I know some people are going to say, now wait a minute, you're wrong. No, I'm not. No, I'm not. that little baby boy right there, laying right there in that cradle that was and is God G-O-D spelled with a capital that's Him God the Father God the Son God the Holy Ghost or the Holy Spirit the Holy Trinity. That's what we call it. The Holy Trinity. That's Him. Everything. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory. The glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. We see it again. He was begotten of the Father. Not Joseph, but the Father. On several occasions, God the Father spoke from heaven and said, This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. So, we have the Holy Trinity. Just keep in mind that that little baby boy lying there in that manger, wrapped in swaddling clothes, or we'll call them burial clothes, that's God. That's God. we cannot look upon God in his glory because it'd kill us you cannot look upon God but he came he came in the flesh and the glory as of the only begotten of the father full of grace and truth now I've said all that and I want to read Jesus has been born and there was a man, I'm reading from Luke chapter 2 verse 25, and it says, And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Ghost was upon him. He was waiting for the birth. He was waiting for Jesus to come. he didn't understand everything but he understood the Bible he was a devout man and said and the Holy Ghost was upon him so he understood he was looking for his Messiah he was looking for his Savior alright verse 26 and it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost and by the way we're using the King James Version. That's what I always use. Use whatever you want. I use what I call the King James Version of the Bible. And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. The Lord's Christ? Who's that? Do you see that little baby boy lying there in that manger? That is the Lord's Christ. That's what he was looking for. Alright. Verse 27. And he came by the Spirit and through the temple. The Holy Spirit directed him, moved upon him, and caused him to come. No, he didn't pick him up and do this and that. But God speaks to us. and I do have several sermons up. Does God speak to us? God hears us. And I don't have time. I don't want to get off on that. But I can tell you, God speaks to us, not in an audible voice, but right in here. We hear Him. We hear Him and we know who He is. And it said, And He came by the Spirit into the temple. and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him after the custom of the law that was the law every male child had to be circumcised and you had to bring a pair of turtle doves an offering this was the way it was it was set up by Almighty God so here he is now he's in the temple and here they are Mary and Joseph Alright, now I just read verse 27. Here's verse 28. Then took he him, who? That little babe, it's laying there in a manger. He took him up in his arms and blessed God and said Lord now let us thou thy servant depart in peace according to thy word In other words, Lord, I'm ready to die. I'm ready to go. I have seen the Lord. you have seen the Lord where he's that little babe he's that little boy who's lying there in a manger wrapped up in burial clothes I've seen him now listen here's the key verse and he said I'm ready to die I'm ready to depart. Why? Verse 30. For mine eyes have seen thy salvation. Mine eyes have seen your salvation. That's how you are going to save whoever wants to be saved. He didn't say, I've seen part of it. He didn't say, I've seen a part of the plan or I saw part one of this or that. No. In him dwelt the fullness of the Godhead bodily. In that little baby boy lying there in the manger. And Simeon said, Lord, I'm ready to come home because I have seen your salvation. Jesus, as I said, when he started his ministry, he said, I am the way. he said I'm the way the truth and the life no man and that means no man, no woman no boy, no girl no one comes to the Father but by me if you want to go to heaven you've got to come through this little boy lying here in a manger wrapped in swaddling clothes my No wonder Christmas is such a great occasion. We get so wrapped up in everything else that we forget the reason. But I said it. I've said it. I told somebody. I said it today, earlier. You can't say Christmas without saying Christ. C-H-R-I-S-T Christ then M-A-S you can't say Christmas and I do not like this X-M-A-S no, you can't X him out well you can but you're not going to get to heaven by doing that you have to come and accept what he done he knew he knew before the foundation of the world was ever laid. According to the Bible, it says that he was a lamb slain before the foundation of the world. He knew that he was going to do this. He knew that he was going to be born of a virgin, conceived by the Holy Ghost or by the Father. He knew that he was going to live a perfect life, sinless. And he knew that all the things that he was going to have to go through with. He knew it. And yet he came because that little baby boy lying there in a manger, wrapped in swaddling clothes, loved us so much that he said, I'm going. I will go. I'm going. I'm going, and I'm going to go down and die for everyone. One of the greatest verses in the Bible, we call it the Gospel in a nutshell. John 3, verse 16. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. His only begotten. Comes from the Father. His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Do you want to go to heaven? Then you've got to come through this little baby boy laying right here in a manger wrapped in swaddling clothes. That's him. That's him. Now, the baby boy, Jesus, lying here in this manger, that's what Christmas is all about. that's why we celebrate it so many people leave him out but he still gets honor and glory I'm going to say it again light up every light that you can for the glory of God because I don't care if it's if it's in if it's people that's never heard of God I don't care if they're heathens every light that is lit points and brings honor and glory to this little baby boy lying right here in a manger. Thank God. Listen. He, he, here you're talking about he. I'm talking about this little baby boy. Now, listen. I want to tell you something. He is the very Son of God. Holy, holy, holy. Holy is the Father. Holy is the Son. Holy is the Spirit. Holy, holy, holy. Lord God Almighty. God in three persons. Blessed Trinity. I remember singing that song. We sung that way back many, many years ago. Many years ago. All down through my ministry. We churches would sing that song. Holy, holy, holy. Lord God Almighty God in three persons Blessed Trinity that's what Christmas is all about but it's not enough to talk about Jesus being a great man he is God he is God he is God the mighty maker the very God God the mighty maker died for us because we had sin in our life all have sinned and come short of the glory of God what about children anyone that has not reached that age of accountability and I don't know what it is. I don't know. God knows, but they're covered. They're covered by the blood. But parents, you ought to be telling your children about Jesus from the time they're born and you take them up in your arms. You should start and make sure. When I was growing up, we were not sent to church. We were took. We walked. First 12 years of my life, we walked to church. Every Sunday. Unless, you know, it was so bad you couldn't walk. And then we left that church and went to another one. And you couldn't walk. It was too far. But we went. We went to church. Now, I want you to just think for a moment. can you imagine God I said that baby boy that's God God the son can you imagine God stepping out of glory allowing himself to be spit upon abused beaten and made weak according to the flesh He knew all this. He knew what he was going to go through. By there in the garden, he prayed and said, Father, if it be your will, let this cup, and that cup was all the sins that's ever been committed. And he had to drink that cup and suffer and die and pay the sin debt. that's the son that is that we owed that we owed that much to God Dr. Adrian Rogers who I love to hear him preach he's dead and gone to heaven but he still has a program Love Worth Finding and if you want to hear some good preaching I would highly recommend Love Worth Finding by Dr. Adrian Rogers. He was a pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee. He also served, I think, at least two terms as president of the Southern Baptist Convention. And he helped. He helped the Southern Baptists. He and several other great preachers. but Dr. Adrian Rogers tells it straight he said talking about this baby he said he was deity in a diaper deity is God he's holy he's deity there's deity and they didn't have diapers but had to make use of what they had, the burial clothes. And he said, that's God in the manger. Yes, that is. That is God in the manger. I never thought about that until I read this I get something every day of the year in my email from Loveworth Finding And he mentioned this. And I thought, this is the sermon. This goes so good along with what the Holy Spirit had put upon me. That little baby boy. Who is that little baby boy? Well, that's our Redeemer. That's our Helper. God in a manger. No wonder the Bible says, great is the mystery of godliness. We can't understand it. We can't understand it. The world was not looking for a king. Born and laid in a manger? They'd say, you're crazy. Not a king. But he was and is the king of kings. The king of kings. Get your eyes open. I'm going to close. I will not take the time to read this. But it's a story that Jesus gave. and it's not a parable, it wouldn't make any difference if it was a parable. This little baby boy, when he grew up, he told this story about a rich man and Lazarus, and a poor man named Lazarus. Now, let me make this plain. The fact, if someone is very rich, that does not, it does not mean that that person's not a Christian. Jesus Christ, that little baby boy we're looking at, paid the son debt for everyone. I don't care how rich they are, how poor they are, how ragged they look. I don't care who it is. It's everyone. Everyone. But Jesus told a story about a man named Lazarus, and he was sick. Had sores all over his body. He was sitting here. He'd sit outside of the rich man's house. And the Bible said he had sores all over his body. And the dogs came and licked his sores. And he begged for just any little scraps of food that fell off the table from the rich man. And the Bible said that the rich man fared sumptuously every day. Well, that's fine. But that does not mean at all that the rich man is going to hell because he's rich. It does not mean that. And it doesn't mean if you're not rich that you're going to heaven. It has to do with accepting the Lord Jesus Christ. The rich man did not accept the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, then the Bible says that Lazarus died and was carried by the angels into the bosom of Abraham. And it says, and the rich man died and was buried. I'm quoting it exactly. And the rich man died and was buried. Now listen. And in hell he lift up his eyes. Lord, help us open our eyes. open our eyes that we must understand who this little baby boy in this manger is. He's the hope. He's the hope of all mankind. And Lazarus believed, although he had never seen, And he'd heard that the Messiah would come. And he believed it. And the rich man didn't believe it. Where you and I go forever is determined by what you and I do about this little baby boy lying here in a manger. You see? Whatever you do about him, if you neglect him and say I'm not interested, then you're going to be just like the rich man. He died and was buried, and in hell he lifted up his eyes. You know something? He asked Abraham, said, you son of Lazarus, that he might dip his finger and bring me a drop of water, for I'm in torment in these flames. He didn't ask for a cup, just a drop, one drop. Now listen, I know that people get upset and some of them say, well, you shouldn't mention hell. That is so foolish. Do you know that Jesus preached more about hell than he did in heaven? Because he didn't want anybody to go to hell. It's a terrible place. Matter of fact, the Bible said hell was created for the devil and his angels. Not for us. But if we reject this little baby boy in this cradle and what he done, then that's going to be your home forever. And I'm going to put it to you this way I always put it. Because we're told to go preach the gospel. That's the good news. Hey, your son dad has been paid. Paid in full. And all you have to do is to accept it. But if you don't, you're going to hell and you will never, never, never, never, never get out. Every time that I use this, I kind of have a problem breathing because I'm thinking about it. And the Bible said, and we don't understand it, it's total darkness, yet there's fire, but yet it's total darkness and it's fire and brimstone. and brimstone is sulfur and it will burn but it gives off smoke and when you breathe it it gets right here you can't get any breath oh God get me out of this place somebody come down here and get me out nope it's too late Abraham told the rich man I said, you can't come over here, and I can't go over there, because there's a great gulf fixed between us. So he didn't say it in these words, but this is what it was. That's your final place. You're going to be there, and you'll never get out. It wasn't because you're rich, but because of what you did not do, as pertains to this little baby boy here in the manger. If you are listening and watching and you have never asked Jesus Christ to come into your life and to forgive you of your sins, I plead with you, tell Him, tell Jesus, I'm lost. I don't want to die and go to hell. I want to be up there with you. Then tell him. Confess your sins. Lord, I'm a sinner. Yes, we're all sinners. But I'm a sinner saved by God's grace and everyone that's accepted him, that's our status. While we're alive here, then when we leave, we go to be with Him. I'm asking you. Don't put it off. And if you need help, if you have prayer requests, visit us. Visit our church. broaderdaybaptistchurch.com You can chat. You can leave a message. And I know, Christmas is a rough time on many people. because so many people have so many problems. If you need help, visit brighterdaybaptistchurch.com and we will be glad to do what we can to help you. If you have a prior request, I said you can put that on there and if you want to announce, we will announce it and have everybody in the world because what you're seeing is available to all the world. Every place that there's internet anywhere in the world. I forget how many billion, seven or eight billion people in the world. And we have this technology and Satan uses it, so we use it. We have the ability to reach the whole world and tell them the good news about this little baby boy lying here in a manger wrapped in swaddling clothes. He's your hope. I pray that everything between you and God, if it's not right, you'll get it right. And I just want to say, Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas. And when you really think about what it's all about, you'll say, yes, it's the most wonderful time of the year. Thank you, Father. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen and amen.