December 11, 2019 Show with Marcus A. McKnight III, Esq. on “Christmas from a Different Perspective: God’s Plan to Save Many”

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Live from the historic parsonage of the 19th century gospel minister George Norcross in downtown

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Carlisle, Pennsylvania, it's Iron Sharpens Iron. This is a radio platform in which pastors,

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Christian scholars, and theologians address the burning issues facing the church and the world today.

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Proverbs chapter 27 verse 17 tells us iron sharpens iron so one man sharpens another.

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Matthew Henry said that in this passage we are cautioned to take heed with whom we converse and directed to have in view in conversation to make one another wiser and better.

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It is our hope that this goal will be accomplished over the next two hours and we hope to hear from you, the listener, with your own questions and now here's your host,

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Chris Arnzen. Good afternoon

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Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, Lake City, Florida, and the rest of humanity living on the planet earth who are listening via live streaming at ironsharpensironradio .com.

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This is Chris Arnzen, your host of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio, wishing you all a happy Wednesday on this 11th day of December 2019.

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I'm thrilled to have a returning guest back in the program who is also a very dear friend of mine.

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One of the advantages of interviewing a very dear friend, you can relax and not care so much about your professionalism or your lack thereof, but I am always thrilled to have

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Marcus A. McKnight III, attorney at law on the program. He is also known as Mike McKnight and Mark McKnight.

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He has more aliases than a fugitive fleeing justice, but he is the majority shareholder of the

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Carlisle, Pennsylvania law firm of Irwin and McKnight PC. He is recipient of an undergraduate degree in 1974 from Drew University in Madison, New Jersey, cum laude with specialized honors in economics and a

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Juris Doctor in 1977 from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. He is a member of the

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Pennsylvania Bar Association and the Cumberland County Bar Association and an active member in the

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Carlisle Rotary Club. He's also the past president of both the Cumberland County Bar Association and the

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Carlisle Rotary Club. He is a member of the West Shore Evangelical Free Church in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania and function speaker for CBNC, which stands for Christian Businessmen's Connection.

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And today we are going to address the same theme that he will be speaking on at one of those

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Christian Businessmen's Connection meetings this Friday, Friday the 13th in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and that theme is

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Christmas from a Different Perspective, God's Plan to Save Many.

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And it's my honor and privilege to welcome you back to Iron Trip and Zion Radio, Marcus McKnight. It's good to be on the radio with a friend.

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Yes, it is. And this is the first time you're actually doing it by phone. We had some issues with some equipment in the studio here that has to be rectified, so we have

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Marcus on the phone this time. We look forward to hopefully the next time you return to having you sitting right here in the studio again.

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But if you could just briefly give a description of the law firm of Irwin and McKnight here in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where you serve as the majority shareholder.

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We have three full -time attorneys, myself, Doug Miller, my son,

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Matt McKnight, and we have five legal assistants who help us get our work out.

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One specializes in real estate, one specializes in estates, two others help me, and Matt and Doug, and Karen, of course, helps everybody because she's our receptionist and she's been with us a number of years, as have many of our staff.

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So we're proud to be able to serve the Lord in this way, but not too proud.

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The Lord humbles us all the time, and the law is difficult at times, especially when lives are being high -stressed by various issues or problems they face.

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But we try to be problem -solvers. We try to help people deal with each issue from a godly perspective, and we're not perfect, but we try hard, and we pray for our clients.

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We have to pray for them because we need God's help to do any good thing. Amen. Well, if anybody wants to investigate the law firm of Irwin and McKnight further, you can go to their website, irwinmcknight .com,

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and Irwin is spelled I -R -W -I -N -M -C -K -N -I -G -H -T .com,

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irwinmcknight .com. And you can also call them at their local

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Carlisle, Pennsylvania number, and I have to be kind of...

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That's 717 -249 -2353. At least I know my own phone number.

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Well, you prevented me from having to enlarge it because I'm going blind, and I was looking at the website on my computer screen,

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I couldn't read it. And I'm exaggerating, folks, about going blind, so please don't send in cards or anything like that.

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Well, you, first of all, you actually amaze me, and I'm not exaggerating, because I don't know if I have ever met or known a

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Christian in any community that is doing more things in the community in the name of Christ every single week.

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First of all, how many Bible studies do you lead in Cumberland County or in Carlisle?

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Well, I'm not sure I'm the leader of any of them, but I certainly go to the CMVMC early morning session at the

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Hamilton Restaurant. That's breakfast time, but we also pray for each other, and we study either

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God's Word or Operation Timothy, which is the CBMC book in three parts that help people in their

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Christian walk after they commit themselves to Christ, and also there's a

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Bible study at Fay's Restaurant on Wednesdays at noon, getting at the

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CBMC group, and we're doing Ephesians, we're wrapping that up. And then

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Thursday morning I meet with a number of men from various churches, about a dozen or so, and we swap off leadership and leading, and actually tomorrow

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I'm going to do a study on an aspect of what we're talking about on Friday, but that is

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Jesus at age 12 in the temple, and it's looking at it from God's perspective, and I got a different insight when

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I did that, so that's what I'm going to be doing tomorrow morning at 7 a .m.

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at Fay's Restaurant. Again, we like to eat lunch or breakfast at these various meetings. I'm also part of the men's outreach at Westshore E -Free, and I do lead a small group, and we study usually the sermons from our pastor, and right now we're looking at Christmas at Westshore.

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Great. And you also orchestrate every single year an

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Easter sunrise service. Why don't you tell us about that? Oh, that is a special opportunity.

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It's unique. It's probably unique in Pennsylvania. We had an opportunity over 30 years ago, the pastor of Grace Baptist Church, Paul Chantry at the time, agreed to lead the first service of a

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King's Gap at the state facility of State Park, in which we got permission to have a worship service, but we had to provide security and crowd control, and the local fire company, the

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Penn Township Volunteer Fire Company, led at the time by John Wardle, agreed to have their fire police provide those services at no cost to both the community and to the state.

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And since then, we've had two pastors leading the services.

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We don't take any offering. All the donations are private, except that Grace Baptist Church does contribute a significant amount, for which we're grateful.

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And we've had a number of pastors from various denominations lead a sunrise service at 7 a .m.,

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and many people from the community ride their bikes or bring their horses up or drive their cars up, and we've had all sorts of weather, but it's been a wonderful opportunity.

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I always wanted to have a mountaintop experience, and each Easter Sunday so far, we've been able to do that, and started again over 30 years ago.

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Amen. And also, the events that you speak at that are hosted by the

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Christian Businessmen's Connection, another thing you do in the community frequently, why don't you tell our listeners about that organization?

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Well, it's basically designed to present the Gospel to the business community, usually on a small group or one -on -one basis.

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And it's a nationwide organization, but it's got a significant footprint in central

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Pennsylvania, and the footprint goes from Lancaster in the east, in central

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Pennsylvania, to York, Adams County, and as far west as Chambersburg, it goes as far north as State College.

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And everywhere in between, in Cumberland County, we have a number of meetings that happen every week, again, small groups of individuals who get together, and we have people we pray for, we have our own individual top 10 list of people that we're seeking to either have a closer relationship with the

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Lord, or a brand new relationship with the Lord, and we've seen marvelous things happen.

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And in our area, we have two workers, Tony Beckett and Dave Waterman, and they are full -time servants of the

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Lord, helping the various smaller groups in direction and also in prayer, and they travel throughout central

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Pennsylvania and put a lot of miles on their cards, but they are faithful servants of the

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Lord. In fact, I had lunch today with Tony Beckett. And so did I, I was sitting right across from you.

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Yes, indeed. And they are fine men, indeed, and always a pleasure to share a fellowship with them.

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And you've got to get Tony to come to my pastor's luncheon this January 9th.

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Dave Waterman has come, I think, to nearly every single one of them, if not every one, and we'd love to see

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Tony Beckett there as well. And although it's for pastors primarily, they let people like me and lawyers and other people in.

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Yeah, well, I include men in ministry leadership. Yes. So it's always a good time, good speakers, and plenty of books.

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Oh, yeah. Just to inform our listeners, I'll be repeating this later, but every year, twice a year,

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I host the Iron Sharpens Iron Radio Pastor's Luncheon. We typically have approximately 100 people there, all men in ministry leadership, and we have a guest speaker this

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January 9th. That's Thursday, January 9th, 11 a .m. to 2 p .m.

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We are blessed to have Justin Peters as our keynote speaker. Justin Peters, for those of our listeners who are unaware of him, he is a brother who, having cerebral palsy, has a certain higher level of sensitivity to the disabled community than others might have.

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And therefore, one of the things he does is he, in addition to the first and foremost thing that has top priority, proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, but second to that, he seeks to expose the charlatans and frauds and heretics in the

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Word of Faith movement who claim that if your faith is strong enough, you will certainly be healed of any physical ailment, and that has caused quite horrific situations in the lives of many people throughout the world, some of them even including resulting in death, because people don't seek medical assistance very often when they are declared to be healed of something.

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But Justin Peters will be speaking on the subject of protecting the sheep from wolves.

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It's 11 a .m. to 2 p .m. Thursday, January 9th at the Carlisle Fire and Rescue Banquet Hall in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

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And if you are a man in ministry leadership, send me an email if you would like to attend. It's free of charge. Everything is free.

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And as Marcus McKnight just mentioned, Christian book publishers, nearly every major Christian book publisher in the

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United States and the United Kingdom donate to me a hundred copies each of a title

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I select from them so that every man in attendance can leave with a copy of that book. So we have hundreds and hundreds of books that we give away for free.

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Everything is free. The meal is free. Hearing the speaker is free. And this was the brainchild of my precious late wife,

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Julie, in the 1990s, who said to me one day, knowing of my many friendships in the pastorate since I have worked in Christian radio most of my adult life, she said, you have more

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Christian friends, or you have more friends that are pastors than anybody I know, why don't we instead of exchanging

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Christmas gifts every year, why don't we start treating your friends in the ministry to a pastor's luncheon?

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And I remember that very first one occurred somewhere in the early 1990s at the

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Outback Steakhouse in Lindenhurst, Long Island, New York. We had about 30 men there, and that has since grown to approximately a hundred men every year.

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I have continued this event in memory and in tribute to my precious late wife, who is in eternal glory with Christ.

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And so this has been going on every year since the early 1990s, and I'm looking forward to this

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January 9th here in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. I'm going to give our listeners our email address if you'd like to join us on the air with a question for Marcus McKnight.

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Our email address is chrisarnsen at gmail .com, C -H -R -I -S -A -R -N -Z -E -N at gmail .com.

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Please give us your first name, at least your city and state, and your country of residence if you live outside the USA. Only remain anonymous if your question involves a personal or private matter.

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And again, the theme today is Christmas from a Different Perspective, God's Plan to Save Many.

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Now, if you could, first of all, explain the title, Christmas from a

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Different Perspective. Highlighting the word different. There are many people who talk about Christmas in various ways.

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Hallmark has their ways of doing it. Most people, when they think of Christmas, they think of the birth of Christ in a stable with quiet animals around.

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Usually the shepherds and the wives didn't show up at the same time. And in the past,

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I've taken a look at various aspects of the birth of Christ from Mary's perspective, which you can find in the

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Gospel of Luke, and Matthew's perspective, which you can find in the Gospel, or Joseph's perspective, which you can find in the

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Gospel of Matthew. But this Friday, we're going to look at Christmas from God's perspective.

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The birth of Christ from God's perspective. And when I did that, to me, it was, it shed a whole new light on what was going on.

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And I think there's some very, very interesting aspects that maybe people haven't thought about, or at least thought deeply about.

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And so, when you look at it from God's perspective, everything about it seems to be different from, certainly, the common view of the birth of Christ.

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Especially the view that your average person in the

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Western world, who is a professing Christian, a nominal Christian, Christian by name only, but really doesn't understand the reason why

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God became incarnate and was born of a virgin in a manger in Bethlehem.

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They really don't understand that, the way those who have been enlightened by the

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Holy Spirit through the study of the Scriptures understand this, because it is a great act of humility that God underwent for the sake of His people.

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And most people just view this as some kind of an act of love of God that they don't really know what that meant.

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And they also, I think, unfortunately, and this is a tragedy, people tend to gravitate toward enjoying the concept of a harmless God in the form of an infant, a helpless, fragile infant in a manger, rather than a holy and righteous and wrathful

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God that will indeed punish people for their sins for eternity that have not been covered by the blood of His Son.

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But anyway. Well, and I've heard those words many times spoken, the humility of Christ becoming a man, but it didn't impact me until I read

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John again. The source of this talk is going to be the Gospel of John, and then the implications of the

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Gospel of John on this whole event. So I want to read a couple of verses, if I could, from the

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Gospel of John and talk about them. In John chapter 1, verse 1,

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In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the

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Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made.

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In Him was life, and the life that was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

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There was a man, in verse 6, sent from God, whose name was John. We're talking about John the

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Baptist. He came as a witness to bear witness about the light, and all that might believe through him.

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He was not the light, but he came to bear witness about the light. And then in verse 14, this is the subject we're going to be dealing with,

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And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory of the only

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Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John bore witness about Him, John the

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Baptist, and cried out, This is He of whom I said, He who comes after me, ranks before me, because He was before me.

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And from His fullness we have all received grace upon grace, for the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

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No one has ever seen God, the only God, who is at the Father's side. He has made

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Him known. Now, the amazing thing about this is, John says clearly in his gospel, that Jesus Christ, before He was ever a man, created every object in the universe together with the

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Father and the Holy Spirit. There isn't anything that was made that He wasn't responsible for making.

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And so in the very beginning of time, Jesus was there. One of the most powerful beings in the universe, beginning or end,

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He was there. And that's the person we're talking about, who became a man.

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And we're going to talk about the aspects of that in a moment. But I just want to tell you that that whole concept, when you really put it to the facts that we know from Scripture about the birth of Christ, it wasn't just a small, innocent child as we often see in the nursery, but this was the creator of the universe, took the form of a man, and first a fetus.

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And we'll talk about that a little bit too, because there was reaction between John the

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Baptist when he was a fetus, and Jesus when He was being born by Mary, and first met

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Elizabeth, who was bearing John the Baptist.

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And it's interesting, probably John the Baptist was conceived first, and then

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Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit after that. So actually, John was a bit older than Jesus by conception, probably.

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Yes, one of the most amazing scenes in the Bible is when you have John the

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Baptist in the womb of his mother, not yet born, leaping for joy in the presence of his

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Savior, who is in the womb of his own mother Mary. And that is, that's a lot to say about right to life, but frankly, and the

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Holy Spirit was on these two women. And again, I want to touch on that as we move forward.

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Great. And we do have a listener question.

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This is an anonymous listener who asks, There has been some debate, even amongst evangelical

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Christians, although it is very rare among us in the 21st century, whether or not to celebrate

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Christmas, since it is not a holiday or holy day that is mentioned in the

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Scriptures. I was wondering if you feel that it is our duty to enforce a celebration of this day upon those of our brethren that do not celebrate it for their own convictions?

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Well, I find any day that you can talk about the birth of Christ is a good day. But quite frankly, the general feeling of people is that at Christmas time, they're more open to hearing about Christ than they are at other times of the year.

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They're so busy, they're so occupied. But especially Christmas and at times even at Easter, people are more open to think about the claims of Christ, especially when you think of His birth.

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Well, I would assume, though, the specific question that the listener had was should we ever seek to enforce,

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I think probably a more accurate word there, would be impose upon our brethren. A brother or sister in Christ says to you, it is my personal conviction not to have

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Christmas trees or Christmas ornaments or celebrate Christmas as a unique day because the

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Bible does not command it, nor does it even mention it. I assume that you would agree that we should not force or impose.

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I guess the only person who would be able to force would be a church leader or, in an unusual sense, if we were to become a theocracy here in America, a political leader, but that's not likely to happen.

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But you understand what I'm saying. Should we not allow our brethren with different convictions, remain with those convictions without making them feel like they are sinning or something like that by ignoring this day?

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And I understand that it is, I think, an ideal time of year because even the unbeliever very often is singing songs of praise to Christ even though this person doesn't believe that Christ is

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God or even existed, but at least they have their minds in that direction and it is a valuable time of year to evangelize,

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I believe. But I think the specific question was imposing this upon others who don't believe it should be a celebrated day in the church.

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I don't want to impose anything on anyone and I wouldn't impose a way of celebrating the birth of Christ on anyone because they need to feel in their own way.

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But as I get older, I find that the way of celebrating

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Christmas changes. And the closer I come to the end of my life, the more precious it becomes to me whenever I think of it or get a chance to celebrate it, as is

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Easter. I like to celebrate Easter on the mountain, but I go to church too.

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I don't require everyone to come to the mountain to celebrate the wonderful celebration of Jesus rising from the grave, but boy, when you do it, it is special.

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So there are ways I think that anyone can specially remember Jesus and worship

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Him and celebrate Him, and I wouldn't impose any particular way of doing it except to say

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God's Word is a good starting place. Amen. And of course in Colossians 2, verse 16, we read something that I think should be remembered by people on both sides of the question.

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Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a

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Sabbath day. I think that we are being instructed here by the Apostle Paul if you were to use this or apply this verse to Christmas, that those who do not feel that they are to worship, or should

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I say to celebrate this day, we who celebrate it should not judge them, and they at the same time should not be judging us over our freedom and liberty to celebrate this day.

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And Paul was speaking to the most diversified church with Jew, Greek, slave, free, all sorts of nationalities.

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They were a very diverse group he was speaking to. So when he says don't judge one another,

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I think he knows what he's talking about. Yes, especially since what he is writing here is

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God -breathed and inerrant. But we are going to our first break right now.

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If you have a question for Marcus McKnight, a .k .a. Mike and Mark McKnight, our email address is

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ChrisArnzen at gmail .com, C -H -R -I -S -A -R -N -Z -E -N at gmail .com.

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Please, as always, give us your first name, your city and state, and your country of residence, if you live outside the USA, and only remain anonymous.

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If your question involves a personal and private matter, I assume that our anonymous listener remains that way because he may be in the thick of a conflict regarding this very issue.

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But don't go away. We're going to be right back with Marcus McKnight right after these messages. When Iron Sharpens Iron Radio first launched in 2005, the publishers of the

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GetWorldNow .com GetWorldNow .com and the G3 conference director has approved of this so in fact they've never even done this before where every chair has had something on it for the attendees so I'm so honored and thrilled that my edition of World Magazine with the

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Iron Sherpa and Zion Radio ad in it will be given out to everybody there but I'll be giving you more information about the

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G3 conference coming up shortly. If you've just tuned us in, our guest today is

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Marcus McKnight III and we are discussing Christmas from a different perspective,

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God's plan to save many and by the way for any of you post -millennialists or theonomists who are upset with me for saying that a theocracy is not likely to happen in this country, a

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Christian theocracy that is, well let me just add to that in our lifetime it's not likely to happen but anyway

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Marcus if you could, unless you have a different point where you want to pick up, if you could explain something that may seem insignificant on the surface but I think as a reformed

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Christian I think it has great biblical weight to it. The simple word many in God's plan to save many the majority of evangelicals today and the majority of professing

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Christians today believe it was and is God's plan to save every single human being but as most

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Christians would admit other than full -blown universalists who believe everyone including the devil will be in heaven the the plan of God, if that was the fact that it was intended for every single person, it would have been and will be an enormous failure on the part of God if that's his plan but we believe that he came as a ransom,

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Jesus Christ came as a ransom for many but if you want to pick up on that well

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I wanted to basically start with the point that the birth of Christ was the most carefully wonderfully planned event in the history of this world so the point is that it's important that you understand how carefully

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God planned this event and orchestrated the entire situation in which it had to be important because it's the most important planned event ever and it begins actually at the beginning of the history of man when

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Adam rebelled against God by disobeying him the woman of course was tempted by the serpent and she said well if I can be smarter than, if I can be like God why not?

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and so there were consequences to their choice and the consequences are found early on and the description is of the coming of Christ and you'll find this in chapter 3 of Genesis when the woman said the serpent deceived me and I ate the

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Lord said to the serpent because you have done this cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field and on your belly you shall go and dust you shall eat all the days of your life and this is important I will put enmity between you and the woman between your offspring and her offspring he shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel and that is the first description of a plan that's now being carried out in Genesis chapter 3 and that plan culminates in the birth of Christ meaning that God himself will become a man and he will become a man of two parents and one of the most amazing things is of course this came and the timing of it is amazing too

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I've said before in the past and I'll repeat it again for this Jesus came at exactly the right moment he was born at the time he was born the

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Roman Empire was still growing and so you had one nation from Great Britain to India and it included southern

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Europe, the entire Mediterranean region several millions of people and there were no borders there were provinces but there were no borders that were manned by military folks people could travel anywhere they wanted to anytime they wanted to the

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Romans were concerned about two things quick mobility so they built a road system and collecting tax money for the

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Empire and they wanted prosperity they wanted more economics to thrive throughout the region and in that environment

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Jesus was born one nation for that entire region and so when he became started his ministry in his 30s some 30 years after his birth he had almost an incubator that he could operate in and the word and the fame of his work spread throughout the

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Roman Empire even after his death but the church wasn't really formed until after he died and rose from the grave in triumph so it was the exact perfect time for Jesus to come into the world when the

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Roman Empire was growing and the incredible thing is God and Jesus and the

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Holy Spirit picked his parents that's the only time that's ever happened that an infant young person picked his own parents and that's right when you look at it from God's perspective that's the only time it's ever happened and why is it that Joseph and Mary were picked?

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People may take issue with that. Where do you get that out of scripture? Well first of all what's the alternative?

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That this was random? That Mary and Joseph were randomly selected? They could have and I don't think

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God dealing with his only begotten son would choose random so the point is that we know it wasn't random because both

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Mary was from the line of David and Joseph was from the line of David and David had been promised by God that his one of his heirs would sit on the throne

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God's throne forever in his kingdom and Jesus was the one who was in the beginning he then would sit upon the throne he was lineage wise from David through both these individuals.

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The other amazing thing is that God had a dress rehearsal in Genesis chapter 22 you see the dress rehearsal of the concept that the birth of Christ begins and that is the sacrifice of Isaac we know

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Abraham the father of many nations 1600 years before the birth of Christ had waited and waited for his son and finally when his wife was 100 years old

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God gave him the promised one and we find these words in chapter 22 after these things

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God tested Abraham and said to Abraham and Abraham said here I am he said take your son your only son

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Isaac who you love go to the land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains on which

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I tell you now normally that would be a stopping point for most of us but Abraham who was promised by God that he would be the father of many nations through Isaac said

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I'm going so Abraham rose early in the morning saddled his donkey took two of his young men with him and his son so he had witnesses two witnesses with him he cut wood for the burnt offering rose and went to the place

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God had told him on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar and Abraham said to his young men stay here with the donkey

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I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you

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Abraham says I'm coming back with this boy after we worship so he took the wood and if we go down to verse 9 when they came to the place of which

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God had told him Abraham built the altar there laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar on top of the wood then

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Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son but the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said

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Abraham Abraham and he said here I am and he said do not lay your hand on the boy do anything to him for now

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I know that you fear God seeing you have not withheld your son your only son from me and Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked and behold behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by his horns and Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son so Abraham called the name of that place the

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Lord will provide as it is to this day on the mountain of the Lord it shall be provided 1600 years before the birth of Christ Abraham does this dry run, this rehearsal of what it was to give up your only son in love because God asked you to do it and at the last minute

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God provided an offering a ram that he could do instead of his son but Hebrews tells us that Abraham believed that even if he had slain his son

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God would have raised him from the dead and that's in Hebrews in chapter 11 in Hebrews you see those amazing words about by faith

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Abraham when he was tested offered up Isaac he who had received the promises was in the act of offering his only son of whom it is said through Isaac shall your offspring be named he considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead from which figuratively speaking he did receive him back so the concept of an offering and if it is a human offering having that offering then being raised from the dead is a dress rehearsal for what

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Christ was as was mentioned at the very beginning of time because of the consequence of sin the only remedy for sin was the act of Christ becoming a man and being sacrificed and then being raised in triumph again from the grave and that concept is amazing to me how do we know that Mary and Joseph were specially selected by God not only was there lineage involved but what else was there about these two that made them special and the answer is pretty clear

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Mary and Joseph had this in common they believed in a

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Messiah they believed that God would send someone to save them from sin and from other issues and they both share that in common now where do we see that in scripture well it's in the response that they make to the word of the angels we find in Luke Mary is greeted by an angel and in verse 20 we see in verse 26 in the sixth month the angel

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Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee named Nazareth to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was

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Joseph of the house of David and the virgin's name was Mary and he came to her and said greetings oh favored one the

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Lord is with you but she was greatly troubled with saying and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be and the angel said to her do not be afraid

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Mary for you have found favor with God and behold you will conceive in your womb and bear a son and you shall call his name

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Jesus he will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High and the

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Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David he will reign over the house of Jacob forever and his kingdom there will be no end so what does

50:43

Mary say what's a Messiah no she doesn't she says how will this be since I'm a virgin in fact can you pick up right where you left off about Mary's question how can this be for I'm a virgin because we have to go to our midway break right now okay this is our longer the normal break folks so please be patient this is a break that's required of us by the

51:08

FCC for our friends at Grace Life Radio in Lake City Florida they have to buy

51:14

FCC requirements localize their programming to Lake City Florida so therefore they ask us to give a longer break in the middle of our show so that they can air their own public service announcements and other things that localize us to Lake City Florida while they do that we air our own commercials that are globally heard we ask of you please to use this time wisely first of all write down the information provided by our advertisers so that you can more frequently and more successfully patronize them that will result in them meaning our advertisers being pleased with the fact that they're getting results from their advertising on our interpreters on radio which will typically result in them lasting as our sponsors for a longer period of time and therefore subsequently we will remain on the air for a longer future because of the fact that we rely upon our advertisers to exist the the dollars the financing that comes through their advertising is crucial we could not exist otherwise so please patronize our advertisers as much as you can and to further ensure you will do that right down their information also send in questions to Marcus McKnight on the birth of Christ or anything connected to the

52:31

Christmas story to Chris Arnzen at gmail .com C -H -R -I -S -A -R -N -Z -E -N at gmail .com

52:39

as always please give us your first name your city and state in your country of residence if you live outside the USA only remain anonymous if your question involves a personal and private matter so please don't go away

52:51

God willing we will be right back after these messages from our sponsors with more of Marcus McKnight and our theme of the day which is

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Christmas from a different perspective God's plan to save many don't go away

53:07

God willing we are going to be right back after these messages from our sponsors as host of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio I frequently get requests from listeners for church recommendations the church

53:38

I've been strongly recommending as far back as the 1980s is Grace Covenant Baptist Church in Flemington New Jersey pastored by Alan Dunn Grace Covenant Baptist Church believes it's

53:49

God's prerogative to determine how he shall be worshipped and how he shall be represented in the world they believe churches need to turn to the

53:57

Bible to discover what to include in worship and how to worship God in spirit and truth

54:03

Grace Covenant Baptist Church endeavors to maintain a God -centered focus reading preaching and hearing the

54:10

Word of God singing psalms hymns and spiritual songs baptism and communion are the scriptural elements of their corporate worship performed with faith joy and sobriety discover more about Grace Covenant Baptist Church in Flemington New Jersey at GCBCNJ .squarespace

54:30

.com that's GCBCNJ .squarespace .com

54:37

or call them at 908 -996 -7654 that's 908 -996 -7654 tell

54:47

Pastor Dunn that you heard about Grace Covenant Baptist Church on Iron Sharpens Iron Radio gotta tell you for my money

55:05

Chris Arnson's radio program is just the best I think that's what it's called this is

55:16

Todd Friel of Wretched Radio and TV with Phil Johnson of Grace to you inviting everybody to come to the

55:22

G3 conference which has almost instantly become one of the best conferences in the country and it is it's a great conference

55:29

I love it and Chris Arnson was there last year he's been there I think every year it's great to see him there you and I actually did some recordings in the lobby at that place which is a highlight tons of stuff going on yeah tons of great speakers and no matter where you are in the building you will hear

55:44

Chris Arnson's laugh and that's worth the price of admission alone if you would like to join

55:49

Phil me Chris and a cavalcade of great preachers so it should be a cavalcade of great preachers and me g3conference .com

55:58

g3conference .com and now there's even more exciting news John MacArthur himself is now also on the lineup at the g3 conference

56:08

Thursday January 16th through Saturday January 18th 2020 go to g3conference .com

56:16

g3conference .com see you there James White of Alpha Omega Ministries and the dividing line webcast here although God has brought me all over the globe for many years to teach preach and debate at numerous venues some of my very fondest memories are from those precious times of fellowship with Pastor Rich Jensen and the brethren at Hope Reform Baptist Church now located at their new beautiful facilities in Coram Long Island New York I've had the privilege of opening

56:46

God's Word from their pulpit on many occasions have led youth retreats for them and have always been thrilled to see their members filling many seats at my

56:53

New York debates I do not hesitate to highly recommend Hope Reform Baptist Church of Coram Long Island to anyone who wants to be accurately taught discipled and edified by the

57:03

Holy Scriptures and to be surrounded by truly loving and caring brothers and sisters in Christ I also want to congratulate

57:10

Hope Reform Baptist Church of Coram for the recent appointment of Pastor Rich Jensen's co -elder Pastor Christopher McDowell for more information on Hope Reform Baptist Church go to hopereformedli .net

57:22

that's hopereformedli .net or call 631 -696 -5711 that's 631 -696 -5711 tell the folks at Hope Reform Baptist Church of Coram Long Island that you heard about them from James White on Iron Sharpens Iron Radio when

57:48

Iron Sharpens Iron Radio first launched in 2005 the publishers of the

57:54

New American Standard Bible were among my very first sponsors it gives me joy knowing that many scholars and pastors in the

58:01

Iron Sharpens Iron Radio audience have been sticking with or switching to the NASB I'm pastor

58:08

Nate Pickowitz of Harvest Bible Church in Gilmanton Iron Works New Hampshire and the NASB is my

58:15

Bible of choice I'm pastor Rich Jensen of Hope Reform Baptist Church in Coram New York and the

58:21

NASB is my Bible of choice I'm pastor Sule Prince of Oakwood Wesleyan Church in Toronto Ontario Canada and the

58:30

NASB is my Bible of choice I'm pastor John Samson of King's Church in Peoria Arizona and the

58:38

NASB is my Bible of choice I'm pastor Chuck Volo of New Life Community Church in Kingsville Maryland and the

58:46

NASB is my Bible of choice I'm pastor Steve Hereford of Eastport Baptist Church in Jacksonville Florida and the

58:54

NASB is my Bible of choice I'm pastor Roy Owens jr.

58:59

of the Church of Friendship in Hockley Texas and the NASB is my Bible of choice here's a great way for your church to help keep

59:07

Iron Sharpens Iron Radio on the air pastors are your pew Bibles tattered and falling apart consider restocking your pews with the

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NASB and tell the publishers you heard about them Chris Arnzen on Iron Sharpens Iron Radio go to NASBible .com

59:25

that's NASBible .com to place your order this is pastor

59:45

Bill Sousa Grace Church at Franklin here in the beautiful state of Tennessee our congregation is one of a growing number of churches who love and support

59:55

Iron Sharpens Iron Radio financially Grace Church at Franklin is an independent autonomous body of believers which strives to clearly declare the whole counsel of God as revealed in scripture through the person and work of our

01:00:11

Lord Jesus Christ and of course the end of all which we strive is the glory of God if you live near Franklin Tennessee in Franklin is just south of Nashville maybe 10 minutes or you are visiting this area or you have friends and loved ones nearby we hope you will join us some

01:00:32

Lord's Day in worshiping our God and Savior please feel free to contact me if you have more questions about Grace Church at Franklin.

01:00:42

Our website is gracechurchatfranklin .org that's gracechurchatfranklin .org

01:00:49

this is pastor Bill Sousa wishing you all the richest blessings of our sovereign

01:00:55

Lord God Savior and King Jesus Christ today and always.

01:01:07

Chris Sorensen host of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio here I want to tell you about a man I have personally known for many years his name is

01:01:15

Dan Buttafuoco Dan is a personal injury and medical malpractice lawyer but not the type that typically comes to mind

01:01:22

Dan cares about people and is a theologian himself recently he wrote a book titled consider the evidence for the

01:01:29

Bible Ravi Zacharias wrote the foreword Dan also has a master's degree in theology

01:01:35

Dan handles serious injury and medical malpractice cases in all 50 states he represents many

01:01:42

Christians in serious injury matters all over the country Dan is an exceptional trial lawyer he wrote the test for the

01:01:50

National Board of Trial Advocacy and currently his firm has over 100 cases that have settled for 1 million dollars or more and in approximately 10 different states in Illinois his lawyers had the fourth largest settlement in the state's history in New York his case involving a paralyzed police officer made the front page of the law journal if you have a serious personal injury or medical malpractice claim in any state

01:02:18

I recommend that you call Dan consultations are free there is no fee unless you win

01:02:24

Dan Buttafuoco's number is 1 -800 -669 -4878 1 -800 -669 -4878 or email me for Dan's contact information at chrisarnson at gmail .com

01:02:38

that's chrisarnson at gmail .com I'm Pastor Bill Shishko, host of a visit to the pastor's study and I am so thankful to be part of the advertising family right here on Iron Sharpens Iron if you live on Long Island or if you're visiting the metropolitan

01:02:58

New York area I invite you to join us for worship at The Haven on Sundays at 430 p .m.

01:03:04

we meet at the Ascension Lutheran Church facility 33 Bayshore Road in Deer Park New York The Haven you'll find

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God's saturated singing gospel -rich ministry and great commission opportunities learn more about us at the

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The Haven LI .com and join us this Sunday at 430 p .m. 33

01:03:23

Bayshore Road Deer Park New York one sure way all

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that's Solid -Ground -Books .com and see what priceless literary gems from the past to present you can unearth from Solid Ground Solid Ground Christian Books is honored to be a weekly sponsor of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio and remember folks please keep in mind

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Solid -Ground -Books .com for all of your holiday gift shopping needs

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Solid Ground Christian Books is owned and operated by a very dear friend a mutual friend of my guest

01:06:22

Marcus McKnight and myself Mike Gadosh he was actually my very first pastor after becoming a born -again believer in Christ and has remained my very dear friend ever since and mentor and also has become a key sponsor of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio I could not exist barring a miracle from God himself without the sponsorship of Solid -Ground -Books .com

01:06:47

so keep in mind every time you purchase a book from Solid -Ground -Books .com you are helping to further ensure a longer life for Iron Sharpens Iron Radio over the airways and before we return to our interview with Marcus McKnight on Christmas from a different perspective

01:07:06

God's plan to save many just have a couple of announcements to make in regard to special events that are coming up first of all an event that we hope you attend if you live locally in Carlisle Pennsylvania is the

01:07:20

Christian Businessmen's Connection meeting hosted by Marcus McKnight this

01:07:25

Friday the 13th starting at 1130 a .m. at the Comfort Suites in Carlisle Pennsylvania which are located on 10

01:07:33

South Hanover Street in Carlisle Pennsylvania Marcus will be addressing this very same theme we are discussing today

01:07:40

Christmas from a different perspective God's plan to save many if you need more details you could call the law firm of Irwin and McKnight at 717 -249 -2353 717 -249 -2353 then coming up on Thursday January 9th you heard me mention it earlier my friend

01:08:01

Justin Peters of Justin Peters Ministries will be my keynote speaker at the next

01:08:06

Iron Sharpens Iron Radio pastors luncheon this luncheon will take place

01:08:11

God willing at the Carlisle Fire and Rescue Banquet Hall here in Carlisle Pennsylvania is absolutely free of charge to any man in ministry leadership and not only will you be fed for free and hear a wonderful message

01:08:26

I'm sure by Justin Peters for free but you also get a ton well that's an exaggeration you'll get dozens of free books a heavy sack of free books brand -new books personally selected by me from each publisher most of the major publishers in the

01:08:47

United States donate these books every time I have a pastor's luncheon which is twice a year

01:08:53

I select a title from each publisher and they give me 100 copies of that title so each pastor will leave with dozens of books brand -new books specifically selected by me for them this is all free of charge there's nothing for sale there there is no ulterior motive as Marcus McKnight can attest to this is just a blessed time that was designed by my precious late wife

01:09:21

Julie intended to just surely and only be a blessing to men in ministry a time of refreshment time of rest relaxation fun fellowship and feasting and she made it clear that she never wanted me to have anything for sale at these events or have ulterior motives so if you'd like to be a guest at this free event

01:09:45

Thursday January 9th featuring Justin Peters send me an email to chrisarnson at gmail .com

01:09:51

chrisarnson at gmail .com and put pastor's luncheon in the subject line and I will register you immediately and once again it's being held at the

01:09:59

Carlisle fire -and -rescue banquet hall in Carlisle Pennsylvania then coming up later on in the month of January from January 16th through the 18th at the

01:10:12

Georgia International Convention Center in College Park Georgia which is a suburb of Atlanta the next g3 conference is being held and I am so excited about it and will be manning a exhibitors booth there once again this will be my fourth exhibitors booth at the g3 conference g3 stands for gospel grace and glory and this

01:10:33

January the theme of the conference will be worship matters worship is sadly a subject that divides

01:10:43

Christians globally perhaps one of the most divisive topics tragically in the body of Christ but it is an important topic and God definitely has clear guidelines to what he expects from us the

01:11:02

Church of Jesus Christ in regard to worshiping him so I hope that if you are able to get to College Park Georgia Thursday January 16th through Saturday January 18th 2020 you will make plans to be there

01:11:17

I will be there as I said manning an exhibitors booth and I hope you look me up while you're there the speakers are always there's always a phenomenal mind -blowing long and deep list of speakers including this

01:11:33

January dr. Stephen J Lawson dr. James R White of Alpha and Omega Ministries a dear friend of mine since 1995

01:11:40

Phil Johnson who has the infamous reputation of being interviewed on iron sharpens iron radio more than any other guest in the history of this program since we first launched in 2005

01:11:52

Phil is the executive director of John MacArthur's media ministry grace to you Todd Friel of wretched

01:11:58

TV and Richard radio another dear friend of mine will be speaking there Derek Thomas world -renowned

01:12:05

Presbyterian author teacher conference speaker pastor he is going to be there dr.

01:12:14

Tom Askell it will be there God willing I don't know how many of you have heard but this past Sunday dr.

01:12:22

Tom Askell who happens to be the executive director of founders ministries the Calvinistic ministry within the

01:12:28

Southern Baptist Convention this past Sunday dr. Askell collapsed while preaching and was unconscious he is currently resting and recovering in the hospital

01:12:40

I still do not have all the details I'm not even sure all the details are known yet why that occurred but hopefully dr.

01:12:50

Askell will be rested enough and recovered enough to be on the roster still in January so please pray for dr.

01:13:01

Tom Askell he is the pastor of a Grace Baptist Church of Cape Coral Florida dear friend of mine for many years and please pray that he not only recovers but is able to speak at the g3 conference dr.

01:13:16

Stephen J Nichols who is president of Reformation Bible College the college founded by the late R .C. Sproul and Ligonier ministries

01:13:22

Kosti Hinn who is the nephew of the notorious charlatan and heretic

01:13:28

Benny Hinn Kosti doesn't mind me saying that because a major part of his ministry is exposing people like his uncle and many others in the word of faith movement for the dangerous deadly damning and deceptive frauds that they are and Kosti Hinn is now a

01:13:47

Reformed Baptist and a cessationist pastor just recently called from California to a church in Arizona and of course the latest addition to the lineup at the roster on the roster is dr.

01:14:02

John MacArthur himself and there are many others I would go to this conference to be perfectly honest if it was only

01:14:08

John MacArthur he is one of my greatest heroes of the faith especially amongst those who are still living and I am so looking forward to hearing and seeing him preach in person although I have interviewed dr.

01:14:21

MacArthur on this show and although he has written a glowing commendation for Iron Trip and Zion Radio I have never met him face to face so I'm looking forward to that with great anticipation if you want to join me there

01:14:34

Thursday through Saturday January 16th of the 18th the Georgia International Convention Center in College Park Georgia for the g3 conference go to g3conference .com

01:14:43

g3conference .com and I strongly urge you if you own a business or you lead a parachurch ministry

01:14:50

I would strongly urge you to register for an exhibitors booth just like the one I will be manning there because they will have over 5 ,000 people there and in fact they typically have over 5 ,000 people with John MacArthur added

01:15:03

I am confident they're gonna have over 6 ,000 people that's just an educated guess but obviously it's a it's a very valuable place to be manning an exhibitors booth so if you want to attend and if you want to register for an exhibitors booth either one or both go to g3conference .com

01:15:19

g3conference .com last but not least if you love this show and you do not want it to disappear from the airwaves

01:15:25

I'm urging you please go to Iron Trip and Zion Radio dot com click support then click click to donate now you could donate instantly with a debit or credit card by doing so you can also mail in a check the old -fashioned way via snail mail to the address that appears on your screen when you click support at Iron Trip and Zion Radio dot com

01:15:44

I want to thank all of you who have been doing that especially those who have been doing it every month I want to thank my guest

01:15:52

Marcus McKnight has been a faithful financial supporter of this program if you have never given before or if you haven't given for a long time please consider giving before Christmas we really need your donations before the end of the month especially because we have bills we have not yet paid that need to be paid and we just plead with you if you love this show and you don't want it to go away please give and I have this caveat for you every day never siphon money away from your local church in other words never siphon money away from your regular giving to your local church where you are a member in order to give to Iron Trip and Zion Radio never do that and never put your family in financial jeopardy in order to give to Iron Trip and Zion Radio those are two commands of God and supporting my show financially is not obviously a command of God but if you are financially blessed above and beyond your ability to obey those two commands please be as generous as you can and give as frequently as you can to Iron Trip and Zion Radio dot com click support then click click to donate now if you want to advertise with us we sure could use your advertising dollars send me an email to chrisarnsen at gmail .com

01:17:05

and put advertising in the subject line as long as whatever it is you are promoting is compatible with what

01:17:10

I believe you don't have to believe identically with me but as long as what you're promoting is compatible with what

01:17:15

I believe we will surely help you launch an ad campaign immediately and if you are not looking or should let me let me rephrase this if you are not a member of a local

01:17:26

Bible believing church and you're not even perfectly looking for one you are living in rebellion against God I have lists of biblically faithful churches all over the world and if you need help finding a church and and get right with God in this area this is a sin if you are neglecting joining a

01:17:43

Bible believing church in your area please let me help you if you cannot do so on your own send me an email to chrisarnsen at gmail .com

01:17:52

and put I need a church in the subject line I've helped many people the Iron Trip and Zion Radio audience find churches where they have either joined or where they have visited where they on they are on vacation or where they have recommended to their family friends and loved ones without churches all over the world so send me an email to chrisarnsen at gmail .com

01:18:13

chrisarnsen at gmail .com and put I need a church in the subject line that's also the email address where you can send in a question to Marcus McKnight on our subject at hand today the broader subject would be the birth of Christ or the

01:18:29

Christmas story and more specifically Christmas from different perspective God's plan to save many that's chrisarnsen at gmail .com

01:18:37

chrisarnsen at gmail .com and as you may recall

01:18:43

Marcus you left off at Luke chapter 1 verse 34 when

01:18:49

Mary proclaims to the angel in regard to his declaration that she is going to bear a child how can this be since I am a virgin and if you want to pick up right where you left off there well the angel then answered her in verse 35 the

01:19:07

Holy Spirit will come upon you the power of the Most High will overshadow you therefore the child to be born will be called holy the

01:19:15

Son of God and behold your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son and this is in the sixth month with her who's called barren for nothing is impossible with God and Mary said behold

01:19:30

I am the servant of the Lord let it meet that let it be to me according to your word and the angel departed from her now my point is

01:19:40

Mary had to know about a Messiah coming so she doesn't ask a lot of questions about what's a

01:19:47

Messiah why is coming why she says technically I'm a virgin how is the

01:19:54

Holy Spirit to create this child within me and the angel says it'll be done you have to believe us it'll be done in a safe and relative way and this child be holy it will be

01:20:10

God's Son and she says let it be according to your word she says I'll do it

01:20:15

I'll be the mother of the Son of God and that's the key thing you have to understand

01:20:23

Mary believed God's Word and she stuck with that belief her entire life even when her son was crucified on the cross she kept her faith and when he was raised from the grave she rejoiced as did all those who loved the

01:20:40

Lord at that time I want to point out to you I said this is the most planned event in the history of man up to this point and the proof is on Mount Moriah that we talked about briefly beforehand that's the same place that King David said to his son

01:20:59

Solomon build the temple here and Solomon build a temple there it was destroyed by the

01:21:06

Babylonians but rebuilt again under great strife but rebuilt and in 20

01:21:13

BC Herod the Great the same Herod who would be dealing with Jesus birth

01:21:19

Herod the Great renovated the temple to the joy of the Pharisees and it was that temple that Jesus was dedicated at it was that temple that at age 12 he sat and discussed important things with the

01:21:35

Pharisees and scribes and of course he had first -hand knowledge of heaven because because he came from heaven and it's the same temple in which he ministered in age at age 30 and did many miracles and debated with the

01:21:52

Pharisees and what his point so the point is God's Word is very intertwined that's what

01:21:58

I love in the lawyer it supports each other and the point is that Mary didn't she knew about the

01:22:04

Messiah many did in that age because they were being heavily taxed by the

01:22:10

Romans they were looking for the Messiah even the woman at the well a Samaritan woman north in Israel and north in the

01:22:16

Galilee region or through Samaria to get to Galilee she said we expect a

01:22:22

Messiah is coming and Jesus at the well said I am he I am God's Son and he transformed that town and the same thing applies of course to Joseph Joseph and you see

01:22:35

Mary's problem Mary couldn't stay in the town she was living in and be pregnant when she hadn't been living with her husband her betrothed husband

01:22:45

Joseph but Mary was given Elizabeth and that's where she went and rejoiced when she greeted

01:22:53

Elizabeth and that's where you seen in verses 35 39 through 45

01:23:01

Mary goes it says in haste into the hill country in the town of Judea and entered the house of Zechariah and greeted

01:23:07

Elizabeth and that's where the fetuses seemed to greet each other John's fetus greeted

01:23:14

Jesus as he entered the room in Mary's womb and that's pretty incredible when you when you think that happened the planning that God put in to this entire scenario is incredible and of course then you can look at Joseph and Matt and Matthew in verse 18 of chapter 1 now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way when his mother

01:23:40

Mary betrothed Joseph before they came together he was found to be with child from the

01:23:45

Holy Spirit and her husband Joseph being a just man unwilling to put her to shame or have her stoned by the way resolved to divorce her quietly but as he considered these things behold an angel the

01:23:58

Lord appeared to him in a dream saying Joseph son of David do not fear to take Mary as your wife for that which is conceived in her is from the

01:24:06

Holy Spirit she will bear a son and you shall call his name Jesus for he will save his people from their sins all this took place to fill what the

01:24:16

Lord had spoken to the Prophet Isaiah behold the Virgin shall conceive and bear a son they shall call his name

01:24:22

Emmanuel which means God with us when Joseph woke from the sleep he did as the angel of the

01:24:28

Lord commanded him he took his wife but he knew her not until she had given birth to a son and he called his name

01:24:34

Jesus now here's the intricate planning of all this relief legal point of view legally

01:24:41

Jesus was the son of Joseph that meant he was not illegitimate he had a name he had the lineage of David he could go into the temple and and and speak or teach he could go into any synagogue and teach from God's Word when he began his ministry but he's considered legally

01:25:03

Joseph's son but both Joseph and Mary knew he was also God's son that's pretty incredible that they understood that and Joseph said

01:25:14

I will raise your son God I will raise him I will do what every you tell me to do to raise your son and he listened carefully every word that God spoke to him so when it was time to go to Bethlehem off he went with a very pregnant

01:25:30

Mary to Bethlehem and off Mary went being very pregnant to Bethlehem believing in faith that God would keep his word to both of them and when he arrived in Bethlehem of course there was no room at the inn so he went to a stable and he would think well couldn't have

01:25:47

God planned reservations better in Bethlehem but the reality is that he was going to give

01:25:54

God was going to give a special message to those who he chose to give it to and that is shepherds this is

01:26:01

David was a shepherd originally he sent one angel who scared the daylights out of the shepherds and then said unto you a

01:26:10

Savior is born and he'll be in a stable that's how you'll know that this is planned by God and then a host of angels the same host of angels that Jesus led in the

01:26:21

Old Testament the same host of angels that will join him when the second coming comes

01:26:26

Jesus led a host of angels he was the most powerful being on the planet in the universe leading these powerful angels and they came to rejoice that Jesus had become a man and had been born it after being a fetus and gave that answer to the shepherds and guess what when the angel said go see this child under you has been born a

01:26:51

Savior they went all of them went I don't know if they took the sheep with them or not but they went and they saw this newborn child in a stable just as the angels had said and the amazing thing is then

01:27:06

Jesus stayed in Bethlehem two years why did Joseph stay in Bethlehem two years how did he support himself in Bethlehem when he couldn't even get a room in an and knew no one especially in that town and the answer is of course

01:27:22

God's planning do you think the shepherds just went to see the child being a newborn

01:27:28

I think those shepherds had a relationship that was forged at that moment for the entire two years that that Joseph was in Bethlehem what are shepherds going to do if they need work done if they need something improved if they need something built they go to the stepfather of God's Son and they have a relationship with him and that's how he maintained his living with Mary in in Bethlehem they dedicated the child in the temple they used doves instead of a lamb to be sacrificed because that's all they could afford they weren't living they lived humbly in Bethlehem and two years later the amazing planning again

01:28:15

I've got God is shown because an entourage of wise men

01:28:20

I don't think there were three I think there were more than three but they came in an entourage so large that Herod the

01:28:30

King Herod the Great in Bethlehem or in Jerusalem five miles from from Bethlehem took notice of them called them in asked him what they were doing and they said two years ago a star was in the heavens and that marked the birth of a child the

01:28:50

Messiah and of course Herod was very alarmed and he asked the high priest and the scribes where is this child to be born they said five miles down the road in Bethlehem and so guess what off went the the the wise men and they set out long before they knew where they were going they followed this star end up in Jerusalem and then were directed by Herod to the birthplace of Jesus in Bethlehem and they arrived and they gave

01:29:21

Joseph gift gold frankincense and myrrh which he couldn't use in Bethlehem in his workshop but Herod had secretly decided that he would put an end to this child and so he asked the wise men to come back and tell him which house is he in where is he at and instead

01:29:38

God warned the wise men not to return and deal with Herod and it shows you again

01:29:48

God knows the thoughts of every one of us the moment we think them Psalm 139 says that before we think a thought

01:29:56

God knows it that's how much in tune he is with even the secret evil thoughts of Herod so he tells

01:30:05

Joseph you must leave immediately because Herod seeks to kill the child so God knows

01:30:12

Herod's secret thoughts and although it's a himself he sends down his troops to kill all the two -year -olds and in triumph and says to himself

01:30:25

I've won I've killed all the two -year -olds the Messiah is been exposed expunged

01:30:32

I have no threat from this so -called Messiah meanwhile Joseph is taken

01:30:38

Mary and a two -year -old who could travel better to Egypt and you and he uses the gold frankincense and myrrh to support himself while he's in Egypt until Herod has died and he decides safe to return he doesn't return to Bethlehem then he returned to Nazareth where Jesus is raised

01:30:58

I think the whole scenario is amazing and how

01:31:04

God put it all together and maintained it it's just fantastic when you consider the planning of it

01:31:13

Herod thought he won and so the child was considered safe the next time we see

01:31:19

Jesus he's 12 years old and this is something I had never thought of before he looked at it from God's perspective when he was 12 years old his parents had celebrated by taking the entire family along with their friends up to Jerusalem once once a year and when he does that he is he then sees in and this is found in Luke it's so refreshing to hear the pages of a

01:32:00

Bible rustling because of this day and age of electronic equipment and you have a lot of people not doing that anymore well

01:32:07

I just I find it much quicker to turn the pages than to scan through the various chapters on my electronic device

01:32:15

I have it if I need it but but it is nice that way and so in verse 41 of chapter 2 of Luke you find this amazing event now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the

01:32:28

Feast of the Passover when he was 12 years old but they went up according to custom and when the feast was ended as they were returning the boy

01:32:37

Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem his parents did not know it but supposing him to be in the group they went a day's journey but then they began to search for him among the relatives and acquaintances and when they did not find him they returned to Jerusalem searching for him after three days they found him in the temple sitting among the teachers listening to them and asking them questions all who heard him were amazed at his understanding of his answers because Jesus had firsthand knowledge of heaven and all these things when his parents saw him they were astonished and his mother said to him son why have you treated us so behold your father and I have been searching for you in great distress

01:33:19

I've always been bothered by that because certainly Jesus knew the distress they were under but Jesus said to them why were you looking for me did you not know that I must be in my father's house they did not understand the faith that he spoke to them but he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them and his mother treasured up all these things in her heart and Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor of God and man until I looked at it from God's perspective here's what was going on when they found him in the temple speaking with the scribes and the

01:34:02

Pharisees and teaching them and listening to them and they said why did you do this to us why didn't you tell us where you were we were frightened because we knew that people were trying to kill you and search for you why would you do this to us and he said to them

01:34:17

I am in my father's house meaning

01:34:23

I am God I got this no one is going to harm me or touch me or do anything to sway me or my future

01:34:32

I'm God folks don't worry about me anymore

01:34:39

I'm God I'm in my father's house I got this you don't have to worry anymore

01:34:46

I'm 12 years old I'm God the only time in history that such language would not be considered disrespectful coming from a 12 year old to his parents but then he submitted to them and he lived in Nazareth with them growing stature but he wasn't he wasn't

01:35:06

God until his ministry began and then he expended his God powers with great effect throughout the region he became the most famous man on the day he was arrested he was the most famous man the most revered man the greatest man in the region for all that he had done and he he healed the blind who have been blind from birth he healed those with leprosy he healed those with heart problems he dealt with mental health issues and people possessed by the by evil spirits and drove out the spirits he did amazing things and people throughout the region but the

01:35:51

Pharisees who had not come to his birth they knew where he was being born they never came to his birth

01:35:58

Herod who sent his men to kill all the two year olds when he found out that the child had been born in Bethlehem two years ago thought he had won the whole issue but but indeed he had not won because God read his mind of course and Jesus was reading mind of the enemies throughout his ministry and this most powerful being while he was being arrested said to his disciples you know

01:36:25

I command twelve legions of angels I have to do is ask God to send them and this would all be over but his mission was to die on the cross to be the sin bearer of all our sins and to be raised again in triumph over death and that's how he bruised the head of the serpent or crushed the evil ones plan to destroy all of mankind indeed but he said clearly by his death and resurrection the only way to God is through me and believing in faith in me and and that is the most amazing thing about this whole concept it was there at the beginning in the garden when

01:37:09

God spoke it in judgment of the serpent it was there when Abraham was willing to sacrifice

01:37:17

Isaac believing that God would raise him from the dead it was there in Bethlehem when

01:37:23

Joseph said the moment he was spoken to by the angel in a dream saying take your son and Mary and go to Egypt that was not normally on his itinerary there were no trips

01:37:36

I don't think Viking cruises went up the dial with that so off they went on foot but a two -year -old would be easier to take on foot than a newborn again it was all

01:37:50

God's planning and the gifts the wise men had given them they could use to preserve their lives and in living

01:37:59

Egypt until it was safe to return and they returned and he was Joseph's son until its ministry began but he was

01:38:07

God's son in the temple he was God's son when his ministry began he was God's son when he was crucified and was

01:38:14

God's son when he was raised from the grave and then when he ascended to heaven the church began by the

01:38:20

Holy Spirit what a plan of salvation that was there in the beginning and how

01:38:25

God superintended every event in a way that caused men to be amazed and when and it in an incredible turn of events when we find that Saul before he came became

01:38:46

Paul was on his way to imprison believers in Christ in Damascus Jesus from heaven spoke to him and said

01:38:56

Paul or Saul why are you doing this in fact can we pick up right where you left off there we have to go to our final break right now okay this will be much more brief than the last break and if you have a question send it in quickly before we run out of time and Grady from Asheboro North Carolina please be patient we will ask your question immediately upon our return from the break and then we'll have

01:39:20

Marcus pick up where we have soul on the road to Damascus and Jesus from the heavens shouts out so why do you persecute me soul soul why do you persecute me and don't go away we're gonna be right back after these messages from our sponsors

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He wrote the test for the National Board of Trial Advocacy and currently his firm has over 100 cases that have settled for 1 million dollars or more and in approximately 10 different states.

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That's CBBBS .com. Let Todd and Patty know that you heard about them on Iron Sharpen's Iron Radio.

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Marcus McKnight shops there frequently and just recently purchased some new books.

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John MacArthur's exposition of the Book of Philippians for our Fay's Country Kitchen Bible Study.

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Am I not correct, Marcus? They'll be in soon, they tell me. Great. And before we go to where Marcus left off, we just want to make sure we get a question from Grady in Asheboro, North Carolina.

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We give him VIP treatment because not only is he a very frequent, faithful, loyal listener with questions nearly coming in every single day, but he is also a very generous supporter financially of Iron Sharpen's Iron Radio.

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Of course, we will treat him with the VIP treatment until he stops coughing up the bucks.

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But Grady says, Great show, Brother Chris. I'm currently reading Sinclair Ferguson's book,

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Child in a Manger. As Mike read this, Dr. Ferguson does an excellent job with the incarnation from Matthew, John, and even the passage in Philippians where our

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Lord lowered himself by coming to earth. I highly recommend it. By the way,

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Chris, I got my copy at CVVBS. Oh, another plug for CVVBS.

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Have you read this book? I'm sure that you know who our dear brother Sinclair Ferguson is because you could not be a card -carrying

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Calvinist if you did not know. No, I've heard him speak. He's one of the best. I now have another

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Christmas gift for myself. Great. Well, it is published by Banner of Truth, by the way, and you could get it at CVVBS .com.

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By the way, Banner of Truth lovers, if you love Banner of Truth and if you go to the conferences that they orchestrate, you probably know

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He's going to be my speaker once again this Monday, December 16th on Iron Sharpen's Iron Radio, so mark your calendars.

01:54:18

Okay, you can pick up where you left off, Brother. I just want to point out that we all need to believe

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God's Word as did Abraham, Joseph, and Mary, and act upon it.

01:54:30

We have to realize there's a standard, and the standard is found in Matthew 22, verse 34.

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A lawyer challenged Jesus by saying, which one of the Ten Commandments is best?

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Choose one so I can tell people you've trashed the other nine. And Jesus responded with a standard that we're all going to be judged by.

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You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.

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The second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend the law and the prophets.

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Now here's the problem for all of us, and we shared this problem. God says the standard is simple.

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Always put him first. Never be selfish. Treat others better or equal with yourself, and we all fail at that every day, every week, in every way.

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And here we find Saul on the road to Damascus persecuting Christians who believe

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Jesus is in heaven and is God's Son, and from heaven Jesus says,

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Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? And Saul says, who are you Lord? He says, I am

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Jesus whom you're persecuting. Rise and enter the city. You'll be told what you're to do.

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Now Saul is blind. He goes into the city. He expects to be killed, because he's violated

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God's law. He's persecuting and killed people who believe Jesus is God's Son and Jesus in heaven.

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And now he knows all that's true. What's his fate? And his fate is given to Ananias, who then heals him of his blindness.

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He says, go, for he is my chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and children of Israel.

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For I must show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name. And from that point on,

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Saul becomes Paul, the architect of spreading

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God's word throughout the Roman world. And here's the point for us. Jesus is going to be our judge.

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How do we know? It says, all men must appear before the judgment seat of Christ.

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And the issue will be a simple one. Have we put our faith in him? Do we know him?

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Do we believe he's God's Son? Do we believe he saved us from our sins? And the whole point of all this is that Jesus, who became man, became that infant, suffered on the cross, rose from the grave.

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He's the same Jesus who we'll enjoy eternity with if we put our faith in him.

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Otherwise, we'll all die of our sins. We need the same Savior that Saul, who became

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Paul, needed. The same Savior promised to the shepherds, to Mary, to Joseph, and in that wonderfully planned event was born in Bethlehem over 2 ,000 years ago for our sake.

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And like the shepherds, we share in the same message. Jesus came to save us from our sins.

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Unto us was born a Savior. And when you live and understand it, and that's why I give testimony to it, that's why

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I'm doing the outreach on Friday, because people who haven't thought this deeply about it need to know that Jesus died for our sins, and we have many that we need punishment for, except Jesus took our place and suffered on the cross for our sake.

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The amazing thing about Jesus on the cross is, this most powerful man stayed on the cross until it was finished, until our sins were forgiven.

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And we're out of time, brother, and I want to repeat your website, erwinmcknight .com,

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I -R -W -I -N -M -C -K -N -I -G -H -T .com,

01:58:33

erwinmcknight .com, and of course, if you folks want to find out more about the

01:58:39

Christian Businessmen's Connection, especially the one, the branch, that Marcus McKnight is a member of, go to centralpa .cbmc

01:58:52

.com. That's centralpa, for Pennsylvania, dot cbmc .com.

01:58:59

Thank you so much, Marcus, for being a wonderful guest once again. I look forward to your return. I want to thank everybody who listened, especially those who took the time to write in questions, and I want you all to always remember, for the rest of your lives, that Jesus Christ is a far greater