For another moment, why don't you lift your hands
and magnify that name above every other name.
The presence of God is here in this room today.
If we're going to get what God has for us, we
have to surrender to him. If we're going to get
what God has for us, our focus has to be completely
on our holy God. We worship you, Jesus. We give
you praise today, God. You are worthy. Attune
your ears. I am speaking. Open your ears. I am
speaking. I am speaking to you. Hear my words.
The work that I do, the work that I will do,
I do in you and through you. Open your ears and
hear. I am speaking. I am leading. I do a new
thing. I pour out. I open doors. I lead and I
direct. I am speaking. Hear my words and follow
me. Oh, mighty God, we love you. Thank you, George.
Thank you, Lord, for speaking to us today. Thank
you, God, for your presence that's in this place.
Our ears are open to you, mighty God. God, I
pray that your word finds a lodging plate in
every heart and in every mind, Lord God. We want
to receive from you. We surrender to you, mighty
God. Would you help me thank the Lord for speaking
to us today? Would you thank God for his spirit?
He's so rich in this place right now. I believe
God's going to do something great in our time
together because our ears are open to what God
is doing. Our hearts and our minds are ready
for anything that God is ready to do. Pray that
God has his will in this place today in the name
of Jesus. I'll move quickly to the word of the
Lord today. We're going to focus our thoughts
using the Christmas story. We'll be in the second
chapter of the Gospel of Luke. Luke 2, and we'll
begin at verse 6. Verse 6 says, While they, this
is talking about Joseph and Mary, were there,
this is Bethlehem, the days were accomplished
that she should be delivered. And she brought
forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling
clothes and laid him in a manger because there
was no room for them in the inn. The Savior of
the world was born in a manger. That's a feeding
trough that you would find in a barn. It was
around animals. It was filthy. It was wild. It
was chaotic and loud. That's not really the ideal
circumstances for anyone, but that's how the
baby Jesus was born into this world. The wise
men said that he would be born king of the Jews,
but in this case, he wasn't born in a palace.
He was the God of heaven, but he was born as
a man here on earth. There was no splendor. There
was no glamour, no fanfare at all. The baby Jesus
was lowly, meek, and mild. And so today we're
going to borrow our title from the lyrics of
a popular Christmas carol. Mild he lays his glory
by. Mild he lays his glory by. Just for one more
moment, would you lift your hands and just tell
God, whatever you have for me, God, I receive
it. Whatever you have for me in this place, God,
I receive it. If it's a word of encouragement,
I claim that. I need it, God. If it's a word
of direction, God, I'm ready. You say the word,
God, I'll say yes. Say the word and I will go.
If it's correction, mighty God, my heart and
my mind are open to you. Whatever you have for
us, God, we receive it right now. Whatever you
have for us, God, I receive it. In the name of
Jesus Christ. In the name of Jesus Christ. In
Jesus' name, the Lord bless you. You may be seated
today. Our title comes from the popular hymn,
Hark the Herald Angels Sing. Verse 1, Hark the
Herald Angels Sing. Glory to the newborn King.
Peace on earth and mercy mild. God and sinners
reconciled. Joyful all ye nations rise. Join
the triumph of the skies. With angelic host proclaim,
Christ is born in Bethlehem. This hymn, Hark
the Herald Angels Sing, is one of the most famous,
one of the most familiar hymns in history. It
was written in the year 1739 by a man named Charles
Wesley. He was from England. While he is a famous
man in his own right, he is perhaps most famous
for being the brother of John Wesley. who of
course was a famous theologian and founder of
Methodism. It was his teachings that led to the
United Methodist Church and the African Methodist
Episcopal Church, the Church of the Nazarene.
Obviously his namesake would be the Wesleyan
Church. There are many others. John and Charles
were in England, of course, but in their young
life, before they were famous, before this hymn
was written, they actually came to America when
it was still under British rule. They came to
be chaplains and settlements in Georgia, which
at the time, Georgia was a debtor's colony in
British America. They came here for just under
one year. When they were on their way here to
America, John and Charles and everyone else that
was on those ships that journey with them, they
ran into some pretty severe storms. They thought
that the end was near. Even one of the masts
on one of the main ships broke in two in the
middle of this storm. And it was because of that
experience that both John and Charles wrote extensively
about people on that ship that had an impact
on them. They called them the Germans. We know
them as the Moravians. They mentioned, both John
and Charles, many times that the Moravians, even
in the midst of this storm, had peace and contentment
and humility. They were singing hymns. They were
praying. While everybody else was losing their
mind, there was something about the Moravians
that stood out to John and Charles that they
were just simply and quietly trusting in the
Lord. It was really only about a year that the
Wesleys stayed in America. It was not really
a very successful mission for them. The people
of the sediments did not really receive their
ministry. And so it was less than a year and
they headed back to Europe. But those same Moravians
that they came over with, they were in Georgia
for about five years as missionaries. And then
after that, those Moravians and many others that
had come to join them, they moved to Pennsylvania.
they worked with a man named George Whitefield.
Remember that name, George Whitefield. They worked
together at his estate to have an orphanage for
children that were without parents. They had
an orphanage there. More Moravians came, and
that's where the settlements of Bethlehem and
Nazareth come from in Pennsylvania. But as more
Germans came, as more Moravians came to America,
they started to migrate here to North Carolina.
about 10 years later. Their leader actually came
down with a couple thousand of them. They bought
a 100 ,000 acre tract from an Austrian man named
Count Zinzendorf. You may recognize that name.
That plot of land was called Wachau. And in the
Anglicized version, modern American English,
we call that Wachovia. And so they built the
settlement Bethania. Then they built the settlement
Bethabara. And then as they continued to grow,
they needed a new center of commerce, and that's
when they founded Salem, which later was part
of that merger that creates this city we know
and love, Winston -Salem. The Moravians helped
build our community, but their influence does
not stop there. They influenced these men, the
Wesley brothers, but also George Whitefield,
that influenced the world. The hymn continues
with verse 2. Christ, by highest heaven adored.
Christ, the everlasting Lord. Late in time, behold
him come. Offspring of the virgin's womb. Veiled
in flesh, the Godhead see. Hell, the incarnate
deity. Pleased with us in flesh to dwell. Jesus,
our Emmanuel. Charles Wesley wrote over 6 ,000
hymns. That makes him the most prolific male
writer of hymns in history. There was a lady
actually named Fanny Crosby who wrote over 8
,000 hymns. Her most famous hymn would be Blessed
Assurance. Wesley's most famous hymn, by a lot,
was Hark the Herald Angels Sing, this song that
we know and love, but it was not originally worded
that way. In fact, he worded it this way. The
original lyrics were, That word welkin, which
I had never heard of before preparing for this,
means the heavens. And of course, here in 2025,
we don't use the word welkin. But even in 1739,
this word was very unfamiliar. This word was
kind of awkward. And so this hymn really didn't
take off as soon as he wrote it. It was actually
15 years later that a man named George Whitefield,
that same man in Pennsylvania who later worked
with the Moravians in that orphanage, he's the
one that changed the lyrics to be Hark the Herald.
In fact, he's the first one to ever put pen to
paper and call Jesus the newborn king. That was
George Whitefield. Still, this hymn was not in
its final form. Really, this was still the beginning.
It was over a century later when a composer named
Felix Mendelssohn set this hymn to song. He had
already written this tune for a political cantata,
but when he read this poem, which he loved, he
set it to song and used his triumphant melody
to make it the song that we now know and love.
And so Charles Wesley wrote the original lyrics.
George Whitefield added clarity. And Felix Mendelssohn
said it to song. And that's the final product
that we sing here in 2025. Verse 3, it says,
Hell, the heaven -born prince of peace. Hell,
the son of righteousness. Light and life to all
he brings. Risen with healing in his wings. This
is what I want to celebrate today. Mild he lays
his glory by. Born that man no more may die.
born to raise the sons of earth, born to give
them second birth. This is what we're celebrating
today. The one on the throne, he descended to
our lowly estate. The one who was exalted, he
humbled himself to be just like you and me. The
one who was rich, the Bible says that he became
poor. The one with splendor and majesty and glory.
He's the one that lays that glory by. That is
the beauty of Christmas. That is why we're standing
here today. It doesn't have too much to do with
the carols and the parties and the gifts. It
doesn't even have to do with... with just the
nativity scene and the community programs. It
is more than that. It is the creator that stepped
in to the creation. It is the eternal God that
came into time. It is the almighty God that took
on human weakness. The Bible says that God robed
himself in flesh to experience temptation. and
hunger, and fatigue, and pain, and ultimately
death. He came down to us, but it was not because
we deserved it. We could never deserve that.
It's not because he was forced to do it. Not
so. It's not because he lost his power, but it's
because God loves you and I so much that he came
down to where we are to live and to die and to
make a way for you and for me. I want you to
note that scripture does not portray a divided
deity. It does not portray co -equal persons
negotiating a plan. There is not one person sending
another. There is not a committee deciding who
will go. The Bible says that God himself came
down. Colossians 1 and 15 tells us that the invisible
became visible. John 1 and 14 tells us that the
Word became flesh. 1 Timothy 3 and 16 tells us
that God was manifest in the flesh. It was prophesied
in the Old Testament, and it was fulfilled at
the beginning of the New Testament. Matthew 1
and 21, His name is Jesus, for He shall save
His people from their sins. Verse 23, he shall
be called Emmanuel, which means God with us.
The almighty God of glory, the creator of the
heaven and earth, came down to live as you and
I live. Mild he lays his glory by. But he didn't
stand to earn anything from this. He didn't stand
to get ahead this way. He did all this just for
one thing, and that's for a relationship with
you. It's because He loves you so incredibly
much. We were nothing without Him. We couldn't
do anything without Him, but He laid His glory
by. He came to live as we live, and because of
His sacrifice, we can have victory today. A virgin
conceived, a son was born, and God became present
in a form that humanity can see, can touch, and
can hear. Emmanuel, God with us. But I want you
to know today that we are not talking about weakness.
We're talking about willingness. God was not
diminished when he took on flesh. He did not
lose his divinity when he took on humanity. God
did not send someone else to die for our sins.
God came himself. The king of glory came as a
common man, just like you and just like me. And
so when you go back to verse 3 of this hymn,
you can see three reasons why mild he lays his
glory by. The next three lines tell us, born
that man no more may die. Born to raise the sons
of earth and born to give them second birth.
Why did God descend? Why did he humble himself?
Why did God become poor? It's that so we can
live and so that we can rise and so that we can
be born again. Back to that first point, Charles
Wesley writes, born that man no more may die.
When we look in the book of Hebrews, this is
chapter 2, it tells us our problem. Humanity
was meant for glory, but we, in our fallen nature,
we forfeited it. Sin brought death, and death
reigned over every generation. Nobody could loosen
themselves from the grip of sin and death. But
the writer says in verse 9, we see. We see Jesus.
He's the one, this verse says, that came lower
than the angels. He's the one that stepped into
mortality. He's the one that tasted death for
every man. Jesus was born so that he could live,
and he lived so that he could die, and he died
for you. That's why Charles Wesley wrote, born
that man no more may die. Death entered the human
race through Adam, but life entered through Jesus
Christ. And so how did life come exactly? It
wasn't because God shouted from heaven and it
wasn't because God sent someone else. It wasn't
because God was distant. No, life came through
a manger. Life came through poverty. Life came
through obscurity. Life came through... Humility,
mild he lays his glory by. He became weak so
weakness could be redeemed. He tasted death,
this verse says, so that we can taste life. Now
to that second point, Charles Wesley writes,
born to raise the sons. I want you to know today
that God wants us to do more than just survive.
God has put us here to thrive. It is God's will,
not only John 10 and 10 says that we would have
life, but that we would have it more abundantly.
That's the purpose of what God has done for us.
Not just so we can scrape by, not just so we
can have just enough to get through, but I want
you to know that God has a purpose for your life.
God has a calling on your life. There is a deeper
meaning to what you go through. There's a deeper
meaning to all of that. God has a purpose for
your life. That's why Jesus came. He came to
raise us from the earth. Jesus did not simply
come to keep us from dying, but Jesus came to
conquer everything that death and sin produced.
We could never climb up to God, and that's why
God had to reach way down to pick us up out of
the miry clay, out of our situation, out of our
sin. We could never. Man cannot become God, so
God became man. Mild he lays his glory by. Jesus
did not descend only to rescue. I want you to
know that Jesus descended to our lowliest state
so that he could restore us, so that he could
redeem us and revive us, so he could give us
a purpose and a meaning. He came to raise you
from more than just the grave. He came to raise
you from sin and from shame. God came to this
earth to raise you from addiction, to raise you
from complacency and mediocrity. Jesus came to
raise the sons of earth. Philippians chapter
two tells us all about it. Verse seven says that
he made himself of no reputation. When Jesus
came to this earth, he did not come as the king
that he had every right to be. He did not come
as that conqueror. He very easily could have
pulled that off, but he made himself of no reputation.
He was just another common man. He was just another
face in a sea of faces. He didn't come with power.
He didn't come on the throne. He came just like
you and me. He came in a way, this verse says,
he made himself of no reputation. But then the
verse says that he took upon him the form of
a servant. I want you to know today that those
very same hands that formed the galaxy, those
very same hands that created the entire world,
they're the hands that washed the feet of his
disciples. Those are the hands that touched the
leprous man and healed him. Jesus took on him
the form of a servant. With all humility, with
all sincerity, he met him. This verse continues,
he was made in the likeness of men. The book
of Hebrews tells us that he came to this earth
and he had flesh just like you and I do. And
so he experienced the same temptations that we
experience. He went through all the same stuff
that we go through. He was 100 % God, that's
true. But I want you to know today, we can't
skip past the fact that he was 100 % man. Whatever
you have going on in your life, I don't know
your story, but God knows your story. And I want
you to know that he went through similar things.
But Jesus proved once and for all, he overcame
all of it. When he went to the cross, he was
a spotless, sinless sacrifice. The Bible says
that he, in heaven, maketh intercession for us.
His sacrifice bridges that gap that we can never
do by ourself. But it wasn't because he just
shouted down from heaven. It wasn't because he
just snapped his finger and it was done. The
Bible says that he came in the likeness of men,
just like you and me. And he died a perfect,
spotless, sinless sacrifice so that we can be
redeemed, so that he can raise us from the earth.
Continuing with verse 8. Philippians chapter
2 tells us that he was found in fashion as a
man. And then it says these three words that
I have read about 64 ,000 times in my life. But
this past week or two, these words just about
slapped me in the face. It says, he humbled himself.
I don't want you to think today that Pontius
Pilate humbled God. I don't want you to think
that the Roman centurions, that was his humility.
It wasn't the crowd that was mocking him and
spitting on him and scourging him. No, no, no,
no, no. God humbled himself. The king of glory
humbled himself. He didn't have to do that. Nobody
could humble him. Nobody could defeat him. Nobody
could push him down. Nobody could cause him to
descend. Nobody could cause him to give up his
glory. He chose himself. The Bible says he humbled
himself. Jesus loves you so much that he left
all of the glory. He laid it all aside. And he
humbled himself. This verse says he was obedient
unto death, even the death of the cross. He didn't
just humble himself to serve. He didn't just
humble himself to live as you and I did. He humbled
himself even to the death of the cross. The ultimate
humiliation. The ultimate torture. But that's
how much Jesus loves you. Mild he lays his glory
by. But not for the sake of doing that, just
to say he did it. No, he did it because he doesn't
want you to die. But not just that you wouldn't
die. He wants you to thrive. Not just that you
wouldn't die. He died for you that he could raise
the sons of earth. Please notice in Philippians
chapter 2 that every step down for him is a step
up for us. Because he became a servant, we can
become the sons. And daughters of Jesus Christ.
Because he humbled himself. We can be exalted.
Because he descended to earth. One day we're
going to ascend into heaven. But it's not because
of our righteousness. It's not because of our
holiness. But it's because God humbled himself.
And laid his glory by. Please don't go about
this Christmas season thinking that there isn't
a meaning to your life. Please don't go through
this Christmas season thinking that the reason
for the season is the hustle and the bustle and
the shopping and trying to keep everybody happy
and trying to keep up with the Joneses. Before
we start the rest of this Christmas season, I
want somebody to know today that the reason for
the season is Jesus. Jesus came to redeem you
and to restore you. Jesus loves you so much.
No matter where you are today, consider today
the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Consider that
even the Christmas story, even being born, what
a downgrade for our Lord and Savior. But he did
it, not because of anything that is going to
benefit him. He's the king of glory. He doesn't
need anything. But he wants relationship with
us that bad. He loves us so much that mild he
lays his glory by. Man cannot become God, and
that's why God became man. We do not deserve
any kind of glory, and that's why God mild he
laid his glory by so that we could have relationship
and communion with him. That's why in 2 Corinthians
8, verse 9, it tells us we know the grace of
our Lord Jesus Christ, though he was rich. He
became poor, but it doesn't say he became poor
for the sake of being poor. It says he became
poor for your sakes. Why? So that through his
poverty. you can become rich. Jesus came to this
earth and he laid all of his glory by so that
he could raise the sons of earth. Jesus does
not want you to be content with just getting
by. It's not God's will that you would do just
enough to check it off the list. God wants you
to be your very best self. God wants you to follow
his will and purpose for your life. He's come
to raise you up beyond what you could do by yourself.
But because he came, because he humbled himself,
you can be exalted in his presence. God can do
more with you than you can do by yourself. And
now to that last line. Mild he lays his glory
by, born that man no more may die, born to raise
the sons of earth. And I'm thankful today that
he was born to give us second birth. Is anybody
thankful for salvation in this place? We could
not do it by ourselves. We couldn't begin to
earn it. It is a free gift from God. One day
we're going to be dancing on streets of gold,
but it's not because of anything we did. It's
because God humbled himself and he died for us
and he made a way for us. And the purpose of
that is that you would live again. The purpose
of that is that you would be born again. Forgive
me for being so blunt, but if we read the Christmas
story and we understand what Jesus did and we
even say that we appreciate it, but somehow we
just leave it as a story in Luke chapter 2. Somehow
we just say, oh yeah, that's what we talk about
in December. And we don't look to the word of
God and figure out what second birth is. Then
we have quite literally wasted the Christmas
story. Jesus came to this earth to be born so
that he could live. He could die and in his resurrection,
in his rising again, you can rise again. Please
today, don't go on with your Christmas season
and forget that the main point is that you can
have a relationship with Jesus Christ. The main
point is that you could repent of your sins and
be baptized in Jesus' name and receive the gift
of the Holy Ghost in the name of Jesus. That's
why he laid his glory by. Not for the sake of
doing it. He did it for you and for me. Not just
so that we wouldn't die, but know that we would
thrive. But most importantly, we need to live
again. We need to be born again. We need to be
caught up to meet the Lord in the air. In Jesus'
name, I ask you to stand all across this room
today. I want to look to the book of John. This
is John chapter 3. I want to talk about the second
birth. Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night. And
he asked how he can be saved, how he can get
into heaven. And this is verse 3. Jesus answered
and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto
thee, except a man be born again, except a man
have second birth. I need you to get this. He
cannot see the kingdom of God. I'm sorry to interrupt
the fun Christmas message to let you know, but
I have a burden today. If you are not born again,
Jesus says it so plainly, you cannot see the
kingdom of God. And then Nicodemus, he's confused.
And if we haven't been in church our whole life
in Pentecostal lingo, it is kind of a funny way
of wording it. So I'm not picking on Nicodemus.
He asked a very fair question in verse four.
He basically says, okay, so born again. Is that
somehow I'm able to reenter my mother's womb
and be born again? I don't follow you there,
Jesus. And Jesus explains, he takes it a step
further. We need to get this. This is verse five.
Jesus answered, verily, verily, I say, I want
you to know today that being born of the water
is water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ.
It's already been mentioned in this service,
but you are at a church today that believes in
the name of Jesus. That's the only name that
can save you. It's the only name. That can clean
you and can wash you and can make you whole.
We have robes ready right now. The water is warm
right now. It's very comfortable. It's literally
as convenient as it could possibly be made. If
you have not been baptized in the name of Jesus
Christ, I don't want you to go any closer to
Christmas without your life being completely
changed by the power of the blood of the Lamb.
I want to urge you today, if you are not born
of the water, you cannot enter the kingdom of
heaven. If you are not baptized in Jesus' name,
you cannot have second birth. And then he says
that we have to be born of... the spirit. I want
you to know today that being born of the spirit
is receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. That's
God's spirit, literally God himself living on
the inside of you, not just hanging out, but
literally taking up residency, leading us and
guiding us, giving us a joy and a peace and contentment
that would be impossible in our flesh. If you
today have never received the gift of the Holy
Ghost, Jesus gave all of his glory up. This song
says, Mowed he laid his glory by. Born that man
no more may die. born to raise the sons of earth,
born to give them second birth. God's called
to us today. He did all of this because he wants
relationship with us. He did all of this because
he loves us. He did all of that so we could live
and so that we could rise. But most importantly,
please don't leave out that last part. Jesus
was born here on this earth so that you, can
be born again. I'm asking everybody in the church
today to come right now with faith and with expectation.
If you have never been baptized in the name of
Jesus Christ, you can meet us over here at this
column. There is a team that will take you right
now. It takes just a few minutes. You can be
water baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for
the remission of all of your sins. If you have
not received the gift of the Holy Ghost, I want
you to find somebody beside you, and I want you
to just tell them, I have never spoken in tongues.
I don't have the Holy Ghost. I don't want to
leave this place without God's Spirit on the
inside of me. I wonder if everybody right now
could pray with passion. Even if you're not praying
for yourself right now, I wonder if you would
even pray. intercessory prayer right now for
somebody beside you. God is speaking to somebody
today. God is speaking to us today. It's not
God's will that we would leave the same way that
we came.