(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

Alright, well great to be in church this morning. I want to thank Pastor Shelley for giving me the opportunity to preach while he's down in Houston for their family and friend day. It's a great honor and opportunity, and we're here in Matthew chapter 2, and we're approaching Christmas. It's Christmas week next week, and you know it's a great time to be thinking about the Lord Jesus Christ and about the Christmas story. So I want to preach a Christmas-based sermon, and specifically I want to talk about the spiritual warfare that goes on in this chapter, and the title of my sermon is The Triumph of Christmas. The triumph of Christmas. Let's start in Matthew chapter 2 verse 1. We're going to go through this chapter here. Matthew 2 verse 1, the Bible says, 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. Now before we get into the the spiritual warfare aspect of this chapter, I just want to point out that notice that the men that were coming to seek Jesus and that were following his star were men from where? The east. They were not from Jerusalem. They were not Jews. And that's a picture of the fact that the Gentiles are the ones that are seeking Jesus today. The Gentiles are the ones that are happy about the Christmas story and that want basically to seek Jesus out. But we see a different reaction in Matthew chapter 2 verse 3. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. So you see they didn't exactly in Jerusalem and Herod they didn't exactly have the same reaction that the three wise men from the east had. And the thing about this is this is weird because Christmas is a time of rejoicing. It's a blessing. It's a time of victory and it's a time of rejoicing. There's no reason to be troubled about Christmas. There's no reason for Herod and for Jerusalem to be troubled. Stay there I'll read for you Luke 2 verse 10. And the angel said unto them fear not for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. You see the the gift of Christmas, the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, is a gift to all people. And it should be a time of rejoicing for the whole world. There's no reason for Herod to be troubled. There's no reason for Jerusalem to be troubled, but you see that they are. Look at verse number 9 of Matthew chapter 2. And we see how the wise men react at the birth of Jesus. 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. 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 worshipped him and when they had opened their treasures they presented unto him gifts gold and frankincense and myrrh. So the three wise men, hey, they have the right attitude here. They have the right reaction to the birth of Jesus Christ. You know, this is how all of us in this room feel about the birth of Jesus Christ. Hey, it's exceeding great joy. Thank God for the gift of the Lord Jesus Christ. We're excited. We're happy about that gift. You know what? If we were there we'd be doing the same thing, worshiping that newborn babe, the Lord Jesus Christ born in Bethlehem. But we see that that's not the reaction that Herod has. They're troubled. I'll read for you Proverbs 28 verse 1. The Bible says the wicked flee when no man pursueth. The wicked flee when no man pursueth, but the righteous are as bold as a lion. See there's no reason for Herod to be troubled. There's no reason for all of Jerusalem to be troubled. Hey, this is their Savior being born for them. This is God in the flesh coming to save them. This is their redemption. Why are they troubled? Why are they not rejoicing like the three wise men? Why is Herod not coming down to worship at the feet of Jesus Christ like the three wise men? Hey, the wicked flee when no man pursueth. They shouldn't be troubled. This is great tidings. This is glad news for all men, for everyone. Let's go to John chapter number 3. John chapter number 3. Let's look at verse 16. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. You know the great thing about Christmas is that it's the God's gift to the whole world. Why? Because he loved the whole world. He doesn't just love the Jews. He doesn't just love the Gentiles. You know what? He loves the whole world. And so he offered the greatest Christmas gift that there ever was, the Lord Jesus Christ. Hey, and it's available to everyone. It's a free gift. He loves everyone. And guess what? It's eternal. It lasts for forever. It's the greatest gift that there ever was. The Lord Jesus Christ. There's no reason for them to be troubled. Hey, this is their Savior being born. Look at verse 17. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. The Bible is very clear that Jesus Christ did not come into this world to condemn the world. He came to save the world. The birth of Jesus Christ is not a condemnation to Herod. The birth of Jesus Christ is not a condemnation to Jerusalem. Why are they troubled? Why are they upset about this great gift? Look at verse 18. He that believeth on him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. You see, the condemnation is that you don't believe in Jesus Christ. There's no condemnation of Jesus Christ's birth. There's nothing negative about him coming to the earth. There's no reason to be troubled. Hey, be troubled if you don't believe on him. Be troubled if you're going to reject God's spotless Son and reject that gift that he gave you. Then you ought to be troubled, because you're condemned, because you're on your way to hell. And you know what? That's why Herod and all Jerusalem are troubled, because they were going to reject the free gift that God gave them. So number one, I want to point out that on Christmas Day, 2020 years ago, and every day since, there's been a spiritual battle raging. From the very birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, and every single day since then, there is a spiritual battle going on around us that we can't see. We cannot see this spiritual battle. Let's go to... No, stay there in John 3. I'll read for you 2 Corinthians 4, verse 3. The Bible says, The Bible teaches that the God of this world, who is the devil, has blinded the whole world so that they don't see the light, the glorious light of Jesus Christ and of his gospel. And the devil has the whole world deceived and blinded to where they don't understand that light. They don't comprehend that light. And that is the spiritual battle that rages every day, is darkness versus light. And see, the problem with Herod was not that Jesus Christ was born. That's not a condemnation. The problem is that he loves darkness. That's the problem. The problem is that he wanted to reject the Lord Jesus Christ. If you're there in John 3, look at verse 19. And this is the condemnation that light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. The problem is not that light came into the world. That's the solution. The problem is not that, hey, Jesus Christ is coming to be your Savior. That's the free gift. The problem is that, hey, Jesus, light's coming to the world, but men love darkness rather than light. That's the problem. That's the spiritual battle that's being fought every day. Look at verse 20. And by the way, isn't it interesting how what was it that signified the birth of Jesus Christ? A light, a star, a sign from God. Why? Because this is light that's coming into the world. This is the Lord Jesus Christ, the true light that's coming into the world, and God used that star as a sign to signify the birth of Jesus Christ. Look at verse 20. For everyone that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be manifest, that they are wrought in God. And you know who came to the light? The three wise men. The people that love the light, the people that love the truth. A picture of the Gentiles, how we end up being the people, majorly, who believe on Jesus Christ. You know, the ones whose works are wrought in God. But you know who doesn't come? Herod. Why? Because he hates the light. For everyone that doeth evil hateth the light. You want to know why Jerusalem and Herod were troubled? Because they hate the light. And you know what? They still hate the light today. And that's why if you go to Jerusalem right now, today on this earth, and you say the name of Jesus, they will spit on the ground. Because they hate the light. You know what? It was pictured in the fact that Herod himself hated Jesus. He hated Jesus. Why is this? Because he's being controlled by the devil. Because there's a spiritual battle between light and darkness. The condemnation is not light. It's the fact that men love darkness rather than light. That's what's condemning them. Go to John chapter 1. Let's look more into this. John chapter 1, verse 4, In him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness to bear witness of the light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that light, but was sent to bear witness of that light. That was the true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. And the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. Notice, the Bible says that Jesus is the true light that's come into the world, that it lights every man, and John is coming to bear witness of that light. But notice, the light, the Bible says, shines in darkness, and what does the darkness do? It doesn't comprehend it. It does not understand it. So there is this battle, there is this contradiction, light against darkness, and when light shines into darkness, it doesn't understand it. And men that love darkness, they're going to hate the light. That's the spiritual battle that we're fighting. But notice, what does John do? He's come to bear witness of that light. Just like the star in Bethlehem, bear witness of the real light that was coming into the earth, John's ministry was the same thing as that star, and that's our same ministry today. It's to bear the light of Jesus Christ, to shine God's light through the gospel of Jesus Christ, to help those who are in darkness. To those who have no light, we have to shine that light and show them the truth, and preach the gospel to them so that they can be saved. Go to Ephesians chapter 6, we'll look more into spiritual warfare here. Light and darkness, we're battling the day Jesus Christ was born, and has been everyday since. Go to Ephesians chapter 6, verse 2. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. And whether we realize it or not, every single day, there is a battle in this earth and in this world from darkness and light. That is the battle. And Herod here, obviously, is a minister of darkness. He's the king of this spiritual wickedness in high places, he's the king of Jerusalem, and he's a wicked person, we're going to get into that in a second. But go to Ephesians chapter 2, back a few pages, and look at verse number 2. So, the whole world walks according to the devil's course. The Bible says that the whole world is walking according to the devil's plan. He has the whole world in darkness, verse 3. So he's saying, hey, even we, when we were unsaved, we were walking in that same darkness. We had that same blindness on us, and we were walking just according to our flesh, doing whatever we want. And that's the thing, the darkness doesn't like light because it makes manifest your evil deeds, right? So you have to be wrought in truth to desire that light to be shown on you. But you know what, if you're walking according to the devil's plan, and you don't want that light exposing your wickedness, you're going to hate the light. And you're going to be against the light. Go to Acts chapter 26, and we're going to read about Paul. He was giving his testimony to King Agrippa, and he was recounting what the Lord Jesus Christ said unto Paul. And this is what he said to him in verse 16. And he defines what that is. And sometimes we just need the Bible to remind us that, hey, all these battles that we're fighting, when we see just the wickedness of this world, and we say, oh, you know, look at a really wicked person. Let's use an example. How about, I don't know, Joe Biden? And we think, we think like, all right, Joe Biden's our enemy. You know, we've got to fight Joe Biden. But really, you know who's running Joe Biden? The devil. That's who we're fighting. That is who we're fighting. He's the one that is leading the fight of spiritual wickedness and of darkness. And when Herod, when we're going to get into the story and see what he tried to do, he was being led by the devil. He was being controlled by the devil, and he, the devil, is who runs the spiritual wickedness in this world. And we've got to realize that our fight is not a carnal fight. We already saw our battle is a spiritual battle, and it's against wickedness in high places. It's not against flesh and blood. It's not really just Herod that's the enemy. No, it's who's behind Herod, the devil. That's actually who we're fighting. Go back to Matthew chapter 2. Matthew chapter 2. If I didn't tell you already, keep your finger there throughout the sermon. Let's look at verse 4. When he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded them of where Christ should be born. So Herod is freaked out at the birth of Jesus Christ. He's gathering all the priests and all the spiritual leadership together to ask a question. And it's funny, often you'll see political leaders that are wicked. You know, they're not against artificial light. You know, they have, what's the woman that Trump had as his pastor? Wasn't it Paula White? That's not light. That's not actually light of God's word. That's like artificial light, okay? And you know what, Herod has no problem with artificial light. He has no problem bringing all of these, you know, fake spiritual people and all of a sudden he's real curious about spirituality. When really, I mean the three wise men just saw a sign from God. They're going to see God in the flesh born and he's asking all of these Jews, who are probably spiritually blind themselves, a Bible question. It's pretty funny how they're really not against religion. They're just against the true religion. And a lot of times you'll hear people, you know, who are wicked say, oh no, Christianity is fine, but we're going to put these hate speech laws in so that you can't actually preach what the Bible says. Because they have no problem with Joel Osteen. They have no problem with the vast majority of churches in this world that don't actually preach light. They don't actually shine the light of what the Bible actually says. They just preach what comes out of their own heart, or whatever's going to get most people in the building, or whatever's going to give them the most money. And hey, the wicked people in this world, they have no problem with them. They'll bring them to them all day long. The problem is they hate the real light. Look at verse 5. And they said unto him in Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet. They were right about that. Verse 6, and now Bethlehem in the land of Judah, art not the least among the princes of Judah, for out of thee shall come a governor that shall rule my people Israel. 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 ye have found him, bring me word again that I may come and worship him also. Now later we're going to find out that this is a complete lie. Herod has no desire whatsoever to worship the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, he wants to kill him. You know, the spiritual wickedness in high places, nothing is below them. Any sin is on the table. They're willing to lie through their teeth. They're willing to just look at you and just lie. He had no intention of coming and worshiping the Lord Jesus Christ. His only intention was to destroy that precious child. Verse 9, 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. 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 worshipped him, and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts, gold, and frankincense, and myrrh, and being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. When they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and 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. So, you know, Herod is telling these three wise men that he wants to come and worship the Lord Jesus Christ, but you know what, Mary and Joseph were warned in a dream that really, Herod's coming to destroy the child. Herod wants to kill the child. And we see here that there's obviously spiritual battling going on in this story. It's obviously more than just a man, Herod, and Jesus Christ being born. No, the devil's working in this situation. He's angry that the Lord Jesus Christ is coming to the earth. Herod and all of Jerusalem are troubled because their deeds are evil, and they want to reject the Lord Jesus Christ. So, number one, we see that there's definitely spiritual warfare going on. But number two, I want to point out that the enemy's tactic in spiritual warfare is to conspire against the righteous. Conspiracy is the tactic of the devil. Now, I know a lot of people don't like to use that word, but you know what, if you don't believe in conspiracies, you don't believe the Bible, because the Bible is full of conspiracies from Genesis to Revelation. It's just conspiracy after conspiracy. What is conspiring? It's a secret plan by a group to do something unlawful or harmful, or it's the action of plotting or conspiring. It's just a plan to do something bad. You don't think conspiring happens in this world? You don't think there's people that plan to do things that are bad? Hello, that's what wicked people do. That's man's sin nature. So it's like, oh, you're a conspiracy theorist? It's like, no, I'm a Bible-believing Christian with an IQ above 30. It's like, of course there's conspiring in this world. And what is Herod doing? Hey, the angel warns him, Herod will seek to destroy the child. He's seeking, he's planning to kill Jesus Christ. This is a conspiracy. And all of the devil's tactics is a conspiracy. Either to get you to sin, or to get people to kill themselves, you know, the devils that possess people, trying to get people to kill themselves or harm themselves. You know, the Bible says the devil walks about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. He's seeking, he's planning, he's plotting to devour. Go to Revelation 12, and I'm going to prove to you that the idea of killing the Lord Jesus Christ at his birth was a conspiracy of the devil. Revelation, I'm sorry, chapter 12. And in Revelation 12, the Bible's giving us a flashback to the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, and there's a lot in here. It talks about the woman. I'm not going to focus on that in this sermon, but let's start reading in verse number 1 of Revelation chapter 12. And there appeared a great wonder in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars. And she, being with child, cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. And there appeared another wonder in heaven, and behold a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth. And the dragon, who is the devil, notice, stood before the woman which is ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron, and her child was caught up unto God into his throne. So obviously, this is talking about the Lord Jesus Christ. The child that's to rule all nations, it's talking about Jesus, but the dragon is waiting to devour the child as soon as he is born. So we've got to understand, a lot of times, when we see political leaders or spiritual wickedness in high places, when they're plotting, when they're planning, when they're conspiring, when they're doing wicked things, realize the devil is behind that. You know who is controlling Herod? The devil. The dragon wanted to devour Jesus Christ the moment he was born. And hey, there's plenty of ministers in this world that are willing to serve the devil. There's plenty that are just ready to do it. Why? Because they hate the light. The spiritual wickedness, the spiritual battle that's being fought, what is the tactic of the enemy? It's conspiracy. You need to realize that conspiracies happen. And conspiracies are happening today, and they were happening the day that the Lord Jesus Christ was born. The devil and Herod were conspiring to kill him. Go to Matthew chapter 2, verse 14. And we'll see, so we learn he's going to conspire to kill Jesus Christ, but how does he actually enact that? How is he going to go about killing Jesus Christ? Look at verse 14. When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night and departed into Egypt. So Mary and Joseph, they're fleeing from Herod, they're warned of the angel, they're fleeing to Egypt, verse 15. And it 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. Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wrath, and sent forth and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men, then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, In Ramah was there a voice heard, lamentation and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted because they are not. So what was Herod's plan? He wanted to devour the Lord Jesus Christ. He hated him so bad that you know what he did? He made a decree to have every single child two years old and under murdered. Two year olds? You know that they're walking around and talking? They're kids. They're beautiful, precious children. You know what? Herod hated Jesus Christ, and the devil hates Jesus Christ, and the wicked servants that are in spiritual wickedness in high places hate the light so much that they are willing to do anything. Anything. We cannot, as safe people, even fathom something this wicked. This is not a sin that's common to man, okay? This is nothing that any of us in this room has ever been tempted with, and if you are, kill yourself, please. Disgusting. Herod does one of the most despicable things in the Bible, slaughters children. Can you even fathom that? It's so disgusting how much just blood, innocent blood, of who would do something like that. But you know what? You need to understand something. Because we don't think like reprobates do. We can't fathom something so evil. But you need to understand something, that there are people in this world that are willing to do anything, absolutely anything. Sins more heinous than you could possibly imagine. There's people on this earth that are willing to do them. And so you know what? You ought to protect your family. You ought to be sober and be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour. You know what? And the devil wants to do horrible, horrific things to the Lord Jesus Christ and to us, his children. And you've got to realize the spiritual battle that goes on is real. And you better take it seriously. And we need to understand that conspiracy is the tactic of the devil. And conspiracy is the tactic of the wicked. Herod hated Jesus so much that he murdered every child. I mean, can you imagine how many children died on Christmas Day? Or not on Christmas Day, obviously it was two years after, but around the Christmas time? Think about that. It's disgusting. Think about what a horrific thing he did. And here's the thing. There's no new thing under the sun. These liberals that want to tell you that, oh, I just want women to have control over their own body. You know, it has nothing to do with a child. You know, they're sick murderers is what they are. Anyone that supports abortion is a sick murderer! I hate abortion! You know what? I will not ever have fellowship with someone who likes abortion. You know what? Any person that's willing to kill a child that's four weeks old, that's four months old, will kill it at four years old! That's what they'll do. And you know what? You will see a day in this country where wickedness will get to the level like Herod. And you know what? I would not be surprised if we had ever had a president or a leader that was as evil as Herod, because guess what? The same devil that was leading Herod to kill children is the same devil that's conspiring today! Wake up! You know, we're in a spiritual battle right now. Do you realize that? But you know what? Christians don't take it seriously. They're like, oh, Christmas, it's a time where we give each other presents. Yeah, it is a time that we give each other presents, but you know what? It's also a time to realize, hey, that the God of this earth, he came to this world for glad tidings for all men, to be the savior of all men. It's great and glad tidings to all men, but you know what? Sadly, there's some people that hate the light. There's some people that hate the light. That's why we have to take our job of bringing the light, bringing the gospel, to people very seriously and to turn them from darkness to light before they can get to this point where they're so evil and so wicked and become a reprobate like Herod. I mean, we don't need our world filled with people like this. We've got to go give them the gospel so that people like this don't exist. Go to 1 Peter 5, and I just want to read you some conspiracies real quick against the Lord Jesus Christ. John 5, verse 18. Therefore, the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he had not only broken the Sabbath, but said also that God was his father, making himself equal with God. John 8.40. But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I heard of God, this did not Abraham. So we see they're seeking to kill him, seeking to kill him, seeking to kill him. What is that? That's a conspiracy. That's what that is. Mark 14.1, I'll read for you. After two days was the feast of the Passover and of unleavened bread, and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him by craft and put him to death. But they said, not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar of the people. What is that? It's a conspiracy. You know, and that's what's so funny, the left-wing media wants to just make fun of conspiracies, and there was even a CIA document, I preached on this before, where the CIA admitted that they're using the media to manipulate people, and it's just like an open document, how they're saying, we pay people off, we use media sources to lie, it's just like open. It's what they do. It's a conspiracy, it's what it is. You think that the mainstream media is reality? You are deceived. If you listen to Fox News or CNN or any of these people, and you think that the truth is being showed to you, you are simple. Because it's not the truth. The truth is the word of God. You're there in 1 Peter 5.8, I already read this, but I want you to see it. Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion walking about, seeking whom he may devour. Just realize that. Realize that the devil today is seeking, he's plotting, he's planning, he's conspiring, and with the evil forces of this world, they're conspiring against the light. They want to hurt the light. That is their conspiracy. Go to John 15, I'll read for you, 1 Thessalonians 5.5, the Bible says, You are all the children of light, and the children of the day. We are not of the night, nor of darkness. So we see in Matthew 2, you know, the Christmas story, that Herod and the devil conspired against the Lord Jesus Christ. But you know what, now that the Lord Jesus Christ is in heaven, we are children of light. We are bearing that light now on this earth. And the darkness hates us now, because of it. And we've got to realize that the world is also going to be conspiring against us, because we're the children of God. You're there in John 15, verse 18, If the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. You are of the world, the world would love his own, but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. See, the world doesn't hate us because they don't like our personality, or our church, or what we say that's not from the Bible. No, they hate what we say that is from the Bible. The protesters that show up there, you know, they don't hate Ben, or Pastor Shelley, or this church. You know who they hate? Jesus Christ. That's who they hate. Because I guarantee you, if you were just with your family at the grocery store, and they just bumped into you and struck up a conversation with you, they would be nice, and friendly, and so polite, and, Oh, hello sir, how are you doing? But you know what? When they realize that the light is here, that's when darkness gets upset. That's when the freaks, and the fags, and the people that hate God come against us. Not because of any of us. It's because of Jesus. If they hate us, we know that they hated Christ before. And Christ is the real reason why we are hated today. Someday, you know, there's going to be a conspiracy against us on a global scale. Go to Matthew chapter 24. Look at what the Bible says in Matthew 24 verse 9. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you, and you shall be hated of all nations. Why? For my name's sake. That's why we're hated. We're hated because we're children of light. Because we're children of God, and the darkness hates the light. Who is that light? Jesus Christ. If we're the children of light, they're going to hate us too. Not because of us, not because of our personality. For no other reason other than that we bear that light that shines on their evil deeds. That's why they don't like us. Go back to Matthew chapter 2. So so far, what have we seen? We've seen that in the Christmas story, there's a spiritual battle raging between light and darkness. And we learned that, of course, the tactic of the enemy is to use conspiracy. To conspire against the righteous. They conspired against Jesus, and they're going to do that to us as well. But number three, let's look at the triumph of Christmas in this chapter. Because what we've learned so far might tell some Christians, okay, well I've learned that there's a battle going on and that people want to kill us. You know, it's like great. Should we be scared? Should we go hide to the mountains and try not to preach the gospel? Well, here's the thing. This story is triumphant. And Christmas Day is a reminder of the triumph of the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at verse 19 of Matthew chapter 2. But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, Arise and 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 Herod his father, he was afraid to go thither, notwithstanding being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the 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. So notice, the devil conspires against Jesus. Herod conspires against Jesus. He wants to kill him, but what happens? An angel comes and warns them and they flee. And then Herod dies and Jesus comes back to the land and then of course he grows up, does his ministry, dies for everyone's sins and raises again from the dead. Herod's plan was not successful. The devil's plan was not successful. And what happened? An angel of the Lord warned Mary and Joseph. Mary and Joseph and Jesus had an angel protecting them. But you know, we have something way better than that. We have the angel of the Lord protecting us, the Lord Jesus Christ. That same baby that was born in Bethlehem's major two thousand and twenty years ago is the same God in the flesh who is resurrected and glorified and is the ruler of the universe. That's the same person that's protecting us. Go to Matthew, or we'll get to Matthew in a second. Go to Revelation chapter 1 and I'll read for you Isaiah 42 verse 4. The Bible says, The Bible says he shall not fail nor be discouraged till he have set judgment in the earth and the isles shall wait for his law. The Bible is giving this prophecy that Jesus Christ is not going to fail. He's not going to be discouraged. There's no weapon formed against the Lord Jesus Christ that can prosper. There's no way you're going to let some reprobate kill the baby Lord Jesus Christ before he's done his mission. It's not going to happen. God is not going to allow it to happen. The Bible says he will not fail nor be discouraged. You're there in Revelation chapter 1. Look at what the glorified Lord said of himself in verse 18. I am he that liveth and was dead and behold I am alive forevermore. Amen. And have the keys of hell and of death. Jesus Christ was triumphant. Jesus Christ was victorious. And you know what? Mary and Joseph were victorious too because the angel of the Lord protected them. And hey, Herod's not going to win and the devil is not going to win. Go to Psalm chapter 2. Psalm chapter 2. Psalm chapter number 2 starts out talking about the conspiring of the wicked. It says, why do the heathen rage and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointing saying, let us break their bands asunder and cast away their cords from us. So the Bible's telling us the kings, the rulers, the spiritual wickedness in high places, they're coming together. They're planning. They're conspiring. And what do they want to do? They want to cast away the cords of God from them. They want a Christless world. That's the conspiracy. They want a Christless world. But look at what happens at the end of this chapter, verse 4. He that sitted in the heavens shall laugh. The Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet if I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion, I will declare the decree. The Lord hath said unto me, thou art my son this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me and I shall give ye the heathen for thine inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron. Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. Be wise now, therefore, oh ye kings. Be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the son lest he be angry and ye perish from the way when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him. You say, are you afraid of all the conspiracies against us? Are you afraid of all the conspiracies against God? Are these people not afraid of conspiring against God? Are these people not afraid of conspiring against the Lord Jesus Christ? Hey, he's warning these kings. He's warning these people that want to come together and make their decrees against God. He says, serve the Lord with fear and rejoice in trembling. The only thing you should be afraid of is conspiring against God because you're not going to win. You're going to fail every single time. The only thing you should be afraid of is conspiring against us, his children. I'm not afraid of them conspiring against us. They should be afraid of conspiring against us because they're going to fail. They will fail every single time. And here's the thing. We have the angel of the Lord protecting us. Go to Matthew chapter 28. Matthew chapter 28. Verse 18. And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and earth. Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. Hey, we have nothing to worry about. The angel of the Lord, the angel of the Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ, is with us to the ends of the world. That's the triumph of Christmas right there. Hey, Herod, you can conspire against Jesus all day long. The devil can conspire against us all day long, but I got news for you. He's with us to the ends of the world. The Lord Jesus Christ, that same precious baby that was born 2,020 years ago, is now glorified in heaven, and He's on our side, not on their side. So you know what? They should be afraid of coming against us. They should be afraid of conspiring against us and going against the Lord. I'll read for you Matthew 18 verse 20 says, For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. You've got to realize, hey, if they come at us, Jesus is with us. The God of heaven is with us. We have nothing to fear. And here's the thing. This year there's been a lot of worry. There's been a lot of fear over the conspiring of the wicked. And people are wondering, man, is the coronavirus a conspiracy? Is, you know, the lockdowns a conspiracy? Is the election the conspiracy? Are the vaccines the conspiracy? Here's the thing. In the Bible, we know exactly what conspiracies are going on because the Bible says, Look, they're conspiring. Look, they're conspiring. We don't have that today. Here's what I do know. I do know the devil's conspiring against us. I don't know exactly what it is. I don't really even need to know exactly what it is. But I do know that the enemy's conspiring against us. I do know that the devil will conspire to kill all of Christians and that he wants to create a mark of the beast so that we cannot buy or sell and so that we would be hindered. His conspiracy is to stop the work of God. But guess what? Jesus is on our side. Hey, we don't have anything to worry about. And that's the triumph of the Christmas story. Hey, the God of heaven that came to this earth to be the gift for us. That Christmas gift for us is eternal. He lives in us and we have him for forever. We don't have to worry about anything. Keep that in perspective this Christmas. Matthew 16, verse 18. And I say unto thee that thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. There's nothing that the enemy can conspire that can stop us. It doesn't matter if you give us Biden. It doesn't matter if you try to force vaccines. Hey, there is nothing that can stop us. Hey, you've got to keep that in perspective and not let the media cause you to fear and you're thinking, oh man, Herod's conspiring against us. Herod's going to kill us. And that's all you focus on is the problem. No, get things in perspective and realize that just like the angel delivered Mary, Joseph, and Jesus, he's going to do the same thing for us. He's going to do the same thing for us. And so don't be afraid to serve God. 2 Corinthians, chapter 14. 2 Corinthians, chapter 14. We have two more places here. Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ and maketh manifest the Savior of his knowledge by us in every place. The Bible says that we always triumph in Christ. Oh, well, what if they kill you? What if you're a martyr? Hey, for me to live is Christ and to die is gain. You can't beat us. Even if we die, where do we go? Heaven. You can't threaten us with heaven. There's nothing that they can do to win. And hey, if we end up living in dark times, if we end up living in a time of spiritual warfare, you know, to the extent that was around Jesus' day, where leaders are killing every child, two years old and under, to try to get to the Lord Jesus Christ, and obviously it's not going to be the same thing, but realize that's the same devil behind that, and that's the same devil that's going to be conspiring against us. But guess what? We will always, always triumph. Always. There's nothing that they can do to stop us. I'll read for you. This will be the last place. This is what we're memorizing. Psalm 23 verse 4 says, Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. And here's the thing. We walk through the valley of the shadow of death. We're not afraid, not because we have a ton of AR-15s stocked up, or because we live in Texas, or because we got all the armored vests and armored vehicles. No, the reason we're not afraid is because thou art with me. That's why we're not afraid. Hey, and thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. What comforts me is knowing that the God of Heaven is on our side. Hey, and thank God for the Christmas story. Thank God for the free gift that He gave to everyone. Hey, I want to bring that great news to other people. I want to shine the light to other people. But you know what? The foolish people in this world that decide to serve darkness, that decide to reject light, you know what? They should be terrified. They should be terrified of what's going to happen to them when they die, and they should be terrified of coming against us and what God can do to them on this earth. So here's what I want you to walk away thinking about. When we're thinking about Christmas, it's a time of triumph. And when we go into the next year, realize that 2020 has been a crazy year where people have been coming against us and we've had trials and tribulations. Hey, but realize we will always be victorious and that we can serve God without fear. Don't worry about the Harrods. Don't worry about what they're conspiring against us. Hey, we need to go serve God. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry. Worry about pleasing Him. Don't worry about what Herod is doing to us. Let's have a word of prayer. Lord, thank you so much for this day, and thank you for the great Christmas story. Thank you so much that you have our back. I just pray that we would all fear and tremble before you and that we would always serve you, Lord, and that you just protect us from the enemy. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.