In this sermon, the speaker reflects on the 400 years of silence between the closing of the prophet Malachi and the coming of Jesus Christ. The speaker emphasizes God's love for humanity and His decision to send His Son to save the world. The sermon highlights the humility and obedience of Jesus, who came in the likeness of sinful flesh and willingly died on the cross. The speaker also discusses the fulfillment of prophecy and the significance of Jesus experiencing the same temptations and struggles as humanity.

Oh, it's a joy to be here, to worship our Lord Jesus together. Open your Bibles to John, Saint John. Chapter 1, verse 1. Very familiar scripture here this morning. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. In the beginning. When was that? In the beginning was the Word, capital W, Word. In the beginning was Christ, and the Word, Christ, was with God, and Christ was God. The same was in the beginning with God, Christ. Continually, existing eternally with God. Title for the message today is, The Word Made Flesh. Let's go on down in John, chapter 1, verse 14. And the Word, capital W, the Word, was made flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld his glory, the glory as the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. The Word made flesh. Christ made flesh. Let's kneel together for prayer. Father, we kneel before you to worship you, to adore you, to honor you, to glorify you, to acknowledge your exalted Lordship. And Father, I ask in the name of Jesus, open our eyes to see Jesus. Deliver us from familiarity where we take these high, holy, exalted person of Christ as somehow ordinary or common. Oh, Father, deliver us from hearing but not really hearing, seeing but not really seeing. Oh, Lord, open my eyes, open our eyes that we would see Jesus. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Romans 8, it tells us that what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh. God sent his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh. If somehow we could just, in our hearts and minds, just transfer back to that dark time, those 400 silent years between the closing of Malachi, prophet of God, speaking the oracles of God, and then that 400 years of silence without a prophetic voice and darkness, gross darkness, covering the face of the earth. And here is Christ, the Word, eternally, forever existent with God in heaven. And humanity is lost. And God says, I so love the world. I so love humanity, the creation that I have created. These dear men and women, these children that I have created in my image and my likeness, I so love the world, I am going to send my Son. You see, this is so familiar. We are so familiar with this. For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son. But let's just stop and let that sink into our hearts. This is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent. This is life eternal, to know the Lord Jesus Christ, whom God has sent. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. Jesus in John 17's prayer there, He says, O Father, glorify Thou me with Thine own self, with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was. Jesus, John 6, 38. I came down from heaven. This is Jesus speaking. I came down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of Him that sent me. Jesus came down from heaven, from the glory world, with the glory that He had with His Father from before the foundation of the world, before there was ever an earth created. Jesus was there in the beginning, the Word with God, from the beginning. And He came down because God said, I so love the world that I'm going to send my Son for sin and in the likeness of sinful flesh, to condemn sin in the flesh, to pay the penalty for sin. I'm going to send my Son. And Jesus said, let's see, what did Jesus say? Let's turn over also now to John 6 and 51. Jesus said, I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever. And the bread that I will give him is my flesh, which I give for the life of the world. Jesus came down from heaven. And He condescended into our world and took on flesh. Amazing. Oh, stand in awe with me and wonder at the love of God and the condescension of Jesus. Go back to Philippians 2 as we look at the condescension of Jesus. Philippians 2, verse 6, speaking of Christ who being in the form of God. We should just stop and meditate on that. Jesus Christ who being in the form of God, being one with God in heaven. Jesus in the form of God. One with God. He thought it not robbery to be equal with God. The equality, the oneness that He had with the Father in heaven. But He didn't count that equality that we had with God. He didn't count that. He thought it not robbery to be equal with God. He didn't grasp and hold fast to His equality with God there in heaven. To be one with God. But rather it tells us He made Himself of no reputation. Jesus emptied Himself and made Himself of no reputation. And He took upon Him the form of a servant. And was made in the likeness of men. Oh, the depth of the riches of the love of God in Christ Jesus. That He came down. And He came down. And He came down. It's a little like our brother Luke was saying. How do we find words to describe such amazing love of God? Being found in fashion as a man. As if coming in human flesh. Condescending unto our level of humanity. The Son of Man. Jesus, the Son of God, the Son of Man. Veiled in the same flesh as we. Amazing. Jesus Christ come in the flesh. Amazing. And as if that weren't enough of humility and humbling Himself. It tells us that in being found in fashion as a man. He humbled Himself. And became obedient unto death. Even the death of the cross. And can it be? And can it be that I should gain an interest in my Savior's love? Amazing. I came down from heaven not to do my own will. But my Father's will. Let's take a journey through the Scripture. And read the account of the Word being made flesh. We will see many wonderful things. We will see God orchestrating. Moving in the hearts of kings and rulers. Commanding angels. Speaking to men in dreams. God orchestrating everything right down to the exact detail. We will see prophecy fulfilled. Prophets who prophesied hundreds of years prior to the birth of Christ. We will see prophecy being fulfilled. And we will see Jesus Christ revealed and exalted. The Word became flesh. I am using my chronological Bible. And you can certainly follow along with me. And I will try to give references. This is Zeri's chronological Bible. In the order that they have felt is proper to give. Sometimes there is mystery. And they are not exactly sure how everything exactly fits. And that is true. That is our God. He is amazing. He is awesome. And it is a great mystery of how all these things have come together. And yet there is such beauty in the exacting fulfillment of prophecy. And the orchestration of God. In the revelation of His Son Christ Jesus. Condescending down and down and down. So that He could taste of death for every man. So that He could feel the passion and the things that we feel. Being tempted in all points like as we. Jesus partook of the same flesh and blood. He faced the same weariness. He faced the same temptations. Luke chapter 1. Turn your Bibles to Luke chapter 1. And verse 26. Let's take this journey. And let's see it. God revealing His plan. Luke 1 verse 26. And in the month. In the sixth month. The angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee named Nazareth. You know it has been silent. It has been quiet. But now God pulls open the curtain for the grand display. Wow! And He begins with the angel sent from God into Nazareth. And of course He began before that with John the Baptist. But for sake of time we aren't going to go through all of that. I'm going to pick it up here on Jesus Christ. Luke 1 verse 27. The angel was sent to a virgin. A spouse to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. The angel came in unto her and said, Hail! Thou art highly favored. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women. And when she saw Him, she was troubled at His saying. And cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not Mary, for thou hast found favor with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son, and shalt call His name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest. And the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David. And He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever. And of His kingdom there shall be no end. Wow! Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee. Therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And behold thy cousin Elizabeth, she has also conceived a son in her old age. And this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her. We see faith filled surrender. Faith filled obedience. Lord, I don't know how this is going to be. I don't know a man. How can I have a child? And God said, This is going to be something like has never been before. A virgin shall conceive and shall bear a son. Mary, the power of the Highest is going to overshadow you. And that son that shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. Wow! And Mary, she said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it unto me according to thy word. Now let's go to Matthew chapter 1. Matthew chapter 1 verse 18. Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise, when as His mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they were come together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph, her husband, being a just man and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily. Just stop for a moment. Any courting couples here this morning? So your girlfriend says, I have something to tell you. Mary told Joseph. Joseph like any rationale man said, there is only one explanation for that. But he loved her. He cared for Mary. And he didn't want to make her a public example. So he thought, I'll just do this as quietly as possible. I don't want a big embarrassment. I don't want a big fuss. I don't want to see her, God forbid, be stoned under law that she's an unfaithful girl. I don't know what all was implicated there. There was a lot of implication. But he thought, well, I'll just put her away in a quiet manner. We'll break off the engagement. We understand that, right? Joseph was espoused. He had not yet come unto her. There is no consummation of a marriage. Mary is a virgin. He was espoused to her. And he would have been allowed to put her away for unfaithfulness. Verse 20, while he thought on these things, I mean, can you imagine what he went through? Can you imagine what Mary went through? What is Joseph going to do when I tell him the news that the angel spoke to me, the power of the highest overshadowed me? God said, you're going to conceive and bear a son. Wow! So here's Joseph. It seems he made up his mind. I'll just break off this engagement. We'll do it as quietly as possible. While he thought on these things, before he was acted out on it, an angel appears. Behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream. Oh, this is a beautiful orchestration by God. It's just the second appearance now of an angel if you've been watching. First one to Mary, and now here comes the angel to Joseph. And appears unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost, and she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins. Wow! Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is God with us. And then Joseph, being raised from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife. He did not break off the engagement. Imagine the faith and the obedience I heard from God. God spoke very clearly to me, and I am going to do what God has showed me to do. And here also we see a fulfillment of prophecy. Isaiah 7.14 Shall we study the Bible this morning? Shall we search the Scriptures to see if these things be so? Let's do that. Isaiah 7.14 Isaiah the prophet prophesied hundreds of years before. And this is what he said. Isaiah 7.14 Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call His name Emmanuel. Wow! God with us. Jesus Christ coming down to earth. Coming down to man. Wow! Now let's go back to Luke 2.1 And it came to pass in those days that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria. And all went to be taxed, everyone to his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee out of the city of Nathrezam to Judea unto the city of David which is called Bethlehem because he was of the house and the lineage of David to be taxed with Mary, his espoused wife, being great with child. And it was so that while they were there the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn. Oh, the orchestration of Almighty God! The heart of the King is in His hand. And He turneth it with us wherever He will. I mean, if this taxing would have been decreed at a different time, the timing wouldn't have been right for Jesus to be born in Bethlehem. They would have went and got all their documents done and paid their taxing and went back home again. But Jesus was to be born in Bethlehem. God orchestrating every detail right down to the exact timing. There they were. No room in the inn. And so Jesus was born. She laid Him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn. Let's continue on. Verse 8, There were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid. Here we have the third appearance of angels appearing unto man, appearing to the shepherds. And the angel said unto them, Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you. Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly hosts praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us go even unto Bethlehem and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord has made known unto us. And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the babe lying in a manger, just like the angel said. You know, you can let your mind wander a little bit. These shepherds, they go with haste to find the baby. And the sign is going to be you are going to find the baby lying in a manger. Could it be they went from one stable to the next looking for Jesus till they found Him? I don't know. I don't know how many stables they visited till they found Him. But they knew that when they saw the babe lying in a manger, this is He. This is the Christ. And when they saw it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all those things and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had seen, all the things they had heard and seen as it was told them. We are sort of skipping over some. Beautiful! Go to Matthew now, chapter 2. Matthew 2, verse 1. Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem saying, Where is He that is born, King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the east and are come to worship Him. Ah, the orchestration! Of God Almighty in the revelation of His Son. We talked about a little bit in our discipleship class who were these wise men. What Bible knowledge did they have? It says here they came to Jerusalem and they said, Where is He that is born, King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the east and are come to worship Him. Wow! God was pulling back the curtain and He chose to align some of the planets in such a way that these wise men who were astronomers, I believe, and studied the stars, they said, A strange phenomenon is taking place in the heavens. And they equated what they saw to a king being born, the King of the Jews. We have seen His star. Wow! And they knew to come to Jerusalem. It says the star guided them. They followed the star. What do you think that looked like, children? You think the star was somehow moving and you could see it? Was it shining a light on a path? Well, I know this. It was clear enough for those three wise men to follow it. I don't know that every common person would have had the discernment to follow it. You maybe had to be an astronomer. But it was clear enough for them to see and to know something wonderful is happening. And so they came to worship Him. And when Herod the king heard these things, he was troubled. And all Jerusalem with him. A king? You have come to worship a king? And so when He had gathered, Herod gathered the chief priests and the rulers and the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. Where should Christ be born? And then they said unto him in Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written in the prophets. Here we have another prophecy fulfilled. And thou, Bethlehem, in the land of Judea, art not the least among the princes of Judah, for out of thee shall come a governor that shall rule my people Israel. And that is found in Micah 5.2. I see our time is speeding away. Check it out for yourself. Micah 5.2. A fulfillment of prophecy. Then Herod when he had privily called the wise men inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said go and search diligently for the young child and when you have found him bring me word again that I may come and worship him also. And when they had heard the king they departed and lo the star which they saw in the east went before them till it came and stood over where the young child was. And when they saw the star they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house they saw the young child with Mary his mother and fell down and worshiped him. They knew by the revelation of God, by the divine orchestration of God this is the Christ child. This is Christ come down to us in flesh, in a human form. This is He. And they worshiped Him. They opened their treasures and they presented unto Him gifts. Gold, frankincense and myrrh. Now we have another divine interjection from God. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod they departed into their own country another way. God at work speaking, giving warning, giving direction. And then He tells us in verse 13 of Matthew 2, And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. So now here we have an appearance of an angel again to Joseph. And He says, Arise, take the young child and his mother and flee into Egypt and be thou there until I bring thee word for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night and departed into Egypt and was there until the death of Herod that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son. Here we have again another fulfillment of prophecy. There is so much here. There is so much orchestration. God is at work. When Joseph had the dream and the angel speaking to him to take the young child, he arose immediately that night and fled into Egypt. And they went and lived in Egypt. And then that whole flight to Egypt was prophesied by the prophet Hosea. That's found in Hosea 11 and verse 1. Out of Egypt have I called my son. This was a fulfillment of prophecy. Again, which was spoken hundreds of years prior. And we see different prophets entering into the picture. It's not all just Isaiah. So this wasn't just Isaiah's dream or conjuncture, you know, to sort of put together some sort of a scheme. No, this was God speaking through His holy prophets in time past and speaking the revelation of the coming of His Son. And it's fulfilled right down to exacting detail. Let us read on. Verse 16. Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth and sent forth and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem and in the coast thereof from two years old and under according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. Very, very grievous time. Very sad. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy, the prophet, saying, In Ramah was there a voice heard lamentation and weeping and gray mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and would not be comforted because they are not. We talked about a little bit in our discipleship class. You know, children from two years old and under to be slain. You know, it's a possibility that a mother and a father, a family, they could have lost two children two years old and under. And now this prophecy, again, this was a fulfillment of prophecy which was spoken by Jeremy, the prophet, which is Jeremiah. So now we have another prophet entering the picture which had prophesied this taking place. Jeremiah 31, 15. If you want to look that one up. Oh, the weeping and the wailing of the mothers and the fathers. Great mourning. Rachel weeping for her children and would not be comforted because they are not. Continuing on to verse 19. When Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt. Here again we have the intervention of God with an angel speaking to Joseph. And he says, Arise, take the young child and his mother and go into the land of Israel for they are dead which sought the young child's life. And he arose and took the young child and his mother and came into the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither, notwithstanding being warned of God in a dream. He turned aside into parts of Galilee and he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets. He shall be called a Nazarene. God orchestrating every event. In our discipleship class we had the Scripture there in revelation of the flood and this woman to devour the child as soon as he was born. And we see that throughout the life of Jesus, the enemy the devil was seeking to destroy Jesus. But as we know, the day that Jesus was crucified, the Scriptures tell us had they known what that would do in the fulfillment of God's plan of redemption, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But that was the condescension of Jesus. Remember, from the glories with his father down he came and condescended and he humbled himself and he became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. And there he shed his blood for you and I so that we could be redeemed and delivered and saved from sin. You shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. Aren't you glad this morning? Aren't you glad that Jesus came and he condescended and humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross? And therefore God has highly exalted him and given him a name that is above every name and at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, every tongue shall confess. Dear brother and sister, Jesus came. Why did he come? He came in obedience to his father, not to do his own will, but the will of his father. He came to save his people from their sins. The message that was delivered by the angels was peace, goodwill toward men, joy to the world. The Lord is come. Do you have peace in your heart this morning? Do you have joy in your heart this morning? Are you satisfied in Jesus? Do you have abundant life? Jesus came to bring us life and to bring it more abundantly. Oh, we could just keep talking a long time about why Jesus came. It tells us in 1 John 3, 8, Jesus came. It was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil, that henceforth we shouldn't be living in sin any longer and be under slaves to the devil. Oh, Jesus came to heal the brokenhearted. Are you wounded and hurting this morning? Jesus came to bring deliverance to the captives. Are you captive this morning to a besetting sin? Are you captive? Are you bound in sin? Jesus came to deliver the captives. He came to set at liberty them that are bruised. And we could go on and on and on. He came that we might have life and have it more abundantly. All this is possible because Jesus came down from heaven and he condescended. And he was made in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin. And he condemned sin in the flesh. Oh, brother, sister, he came that you might have joy and peace and forgiveness of sins and being filled with the Holy Spirit, walking in abundant life of Christ. This is my desire and prayer for all of us together. And this is the will of God. God bless you, brothers and sisters. I hope you enjoyed that little journey as we looked at the Word made flesh. God bless you. Thank you, Brother Aaron, for bringing out the power of those events. That really stood out to me. You know, I thought about the Virgin Mary and it says, how does it say there, so much that I am Thy handmaid, be it unto me according to Thy word. Just a young girl like many of you. You know, she heard from the Lord and received and accepted the power of that event. You know, she reached out in faith to the words that were spoken to her. And I thought of Joseph. You know, Joseph, here was his girlfriend that he was betrothed to and it was evident that she had conceived. And he, again, here was God's voice speaking into a young man's life and he heard. You just suppose Joseph wouldn't have heard. I mean, would have refused to believe, you know, but he believed that what had been conceived in the womb of Mary was of the Holy Ghost. Thought about the angels. You know, the angels rejoicing over the birth of Christ. Tremendous rejoicing. You know, I thought about myself. Do I rejoice in the birth of a someone who receives Christ and experiences a new birth? Do I rejoice when I see Christ working or someone experiencing in a new way you know, in a new way, Christ in his or her life? And I thought about the wise men. You know, the wise men, the wisdom that they had. Christ is made unto us wisdom, the Bible says. He has abounded toward us in wisdom. I just thought about the power of those events as you were bringing them out. I really appreciated your exposition there, Aaron.