"The Virgin Birth: God Does the Impossible "

Hi there, this is long Solomon and I like to welcome you to our program today. You know it's a tremendous honor the God's given us to be on stations all around the nation bringing the truths of God's word as it is uncompromising and straightforward and I'm so glad you tuned in to listen and be part of that. Thanks again for your support and your generosity that keeps us on the radio and now let's get to the word of God's name was Enrico Fermi.

He was an Italian he won the Nobel Prize for physics in 1938 in that very same year he fled the regime of Mussolini and came to America where he eventually became professor of physics at the University of Chicago. Fermi was responsible for one of if not the greatest scientific accomplishment in human history. Because you see on December 2, 1942, Fermi gathered with his team of scientists in a squash court underneath Stagg Field in Chicago at the University of Chicago and in front of them was what they called Chicago pile number one. It was a 400 ton pile of graphite bricks impregnated with uranium pellets and infirmities command. The cadmium control rods were pulled out of the pile and at 3:36 PM on December 2, 1942 the first self-sustaining nuclear reaction in human history occurred. Now the Stagg Field squash court was demolished in 1957, but the impact of what happened there. On December 2, 1942 has literally transformed the world that we live in. Of the 30 million people that are hospitalizing the United States every year. 1/3 of them are treated with nuclear medicine consumer goods from smoke detectors all the way to nonstick frying pans depend on nuclear technology 1/6 of the world supply of electricity is supplied by nuclear reactors.

All of America's submarines 84 attack and 34 ballistic are powered by nuclear reactors and finally, let's not forget nuclear weapons. Fermi's discovery led to the dropping of the first two atomic bombs nickname little boy and fat man and they killed over 100,000 people. But today's thermonuclear weapons make these two bombs look like Pistols really and Alvin Weinberger writing in the world book encyclopedia. Reflecting on this awesome discovery of nuclear power and energy said this and I quote he said nuclear energy is the most powerful kind of energy known to man, now when I read this I stopped for a minute and I asked myself is Mr. Weinberger correct say what he said. He said nuclear energy is the most powerful kind of energy known to mankind. The answer is as you write and I say that he isn't, because right here in Colossians chapter 1 God tells us that there is a power greater than nuclear power.

Look with me. In chapter 1 of Colossians beginning in verse 15 he that is Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible God.

He is the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created by him all things were created things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities all things were created by him and for him.

Verse 17 and he is before all things and in him all things are held together. If you understand with these two verses are saying they are telling us that Jesus Christ power far surpasses anything we have ever seen with regard to nuclear power, or any other kind of power it tells us that the power of Jesus Christ is the power that made this universe the power that made every atom in this universe and verse 17 tells us to be even more specific that Jesus Christ, by his own divine power holds together every single atom in the universe every proton, every neutron, every electronic every speck of nuclear energy exists by Jesus Christ. Specific design and creative power and it is completely at his disposal. Nuclear power is small potatoes when compared to the incredible power of Jesus Christ living risen son of God is that Juan wanted to bring all to suffer were we talking about this morning.

I want to talk to you about the power of God.

I want to talk to you about the virgin birth of Jesus Christ, which is one of the most most incredible displays of the power of God anywhere on record in human history. And then we want to answer the question so what. So let's turn back to the gospel according to Luke, which is where were studying in chapter 1 will easier to find because the New Testament goes Matthew, Mark, low easy third book in the New Testament, chapter 1 and let's look at this tremendous passage about the virgin birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, I'm beginning in verse 26 of chapter 1 of Luke's gospel in the six-month verse 26 says, by the way, that's the six months of Elizabeth's pregnancy.

Remember last week we learned about Elizabeth who got pregnant. That's what it's talking about in the six month of her pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, to a town in Galilee to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendent of David and the virgin's name was Mary and the angel went to her and said greeting you who are highly favored the Lord is with you whenever I take a trip to Israel. I just came back from taking a tour was my seventh time there. We always go to Nazareth and we always go to the little church of St. Gabriel in Nazareth. This little church is built over the only running fountain of order ever known to exist in the city of Nazareth, and it was actually built by the Crusaders even though the church it's there today is built on the ruins of the Crusader church as you go inside of this beautiful little shrine.

Tradition says that it was here that the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary while she was alone drawing water from the well and that then from here. They walked together back to her house where he made his great pronouncement about the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. No, I don't know for certain whether he appeared to her here at the well or not. But when you walk into this church all over the walls and all over the ceilings are some of the most breathtaking paintings in all of Israel depicting Gabriel's announcement to Mary about the birth of Jesus Christ. While all the host of heaven look on all the angels are gathered around and there've depicted is kind of appearing in and wanting to see what is this thing that's going on.

What is this thing the Gabriel is talking to Mary about his positively staggering to walk into the some church and be impressed with all around you.

This idea of what a special thing.

The birth of Jesus Christ wasn't and every time I visit this church.

It reminds me that Jesus Christ did not come to earth in the usual way. The Bible declares that his was a unique birth for a unique person sent to accomplish a unique mission and what Gabriel announced to Mary was so incredulous that I suspect the angels of heaven really did stand around in awe and wonder at what was going on, just like the murals in this church. The Gabriel Teller verse 29 Mary was greatly troubled his words and wondered what kind of greeting this was with the angel said to her, don't be afraid, Mary, for you is found favor with God and you shall be with child and give birth to a son, and you to give him the name Jesus.

Jesus in Hebrew. Yoho should walk or Yoshi will for sure means God's salvation or God brings salvation or God say, and he will be great and will be called the son of the most high, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David.

He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will never end. Not everybody thinks there to special through you think your kids special and I'm always amazed at how parents will say to me now you know what they're doing. I really think I've got a prodigy here this kid is actually beginning the same online dad. Dad six months old. I think I've got a prodigy and I just always smile because after you have three or four. You begin realizing that even though they're special or not that many prodigies around but everybody thinks their kid is something unique, but this kid really is unique. One of the great promises that Gabriel made her son would be great. He would be called the son of the most high God, the Lord would give him the throne of his father David. He will reign over the house of Israel forever, and his kingdom would never end. Man, what a mouthful. The promise anybody about their child and Mary was flabbergasted with dear friends was flabbergasted. Mary was none of this information. The Gabriel just reeled off about how great her son was going to be. That's not what really astonished or look at verse 34 and Mary said to the angel, how can this be, how will this happen since I am a version is a look, look at that unbelief and that Dell will know that was not unbelief and doubt there is asking a very reasonable question is to Mary was a virgin. The Scripture is explicit, patently explicit on this issue two times in verse 27.

The Bible says she was a virgin, right here in verse 34. She says to the angel Gabriel hey Gabriel. How can this be on the virgin. If you read in Matthew chapter 1. The Bible says that Mary was engaged to Joseph but they had not yet come together. That is, they had not yet had any kind of sexual relationship. If a person wants to say that they don't believe that Mary was a virgin, that's their choice, but if a person wants to try to say that the Bible never claims that Mary was a virgin.

That's hogwash.

The Bible claims without apology that this woman had never had sex with Joseph or anybody else for that matter, and therefore her having a baby. Any baby, even a great baby was absolutely impossible. And that's the key word here. The keyword is impossible what the angel was telling Mary was going to happen to her was not improbable, unlikely, implausible or rare, it was impossible about as impossible as an apple falling off a tree and going up about as impossible as the shortest distance between two points been a crooked line about as impossible as to into being anything else other than for those are natural laws that are always true. And hey, Mary's parents had gone over the birds and the bees with her. She knew about how this thing worked. That's another natural law that's always true and that's why she looked at the angel and she immediately recognized that what he was saying to her was going to happen could not happen as long as the laws of the universe held true for auto think she was doubting him unbelieving them. I just think she had a reasonable question and that is how can this possibly happen when the angel answered verse 35 and the angel answered and said the Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the most high will overshadow you.

So the holy one that will be born will be called the son of God and even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age and she, who was said to be bear and visitor six month of pregnancy. The angel said for nothing is impossible with God. The angel answered Mary's question. Mary said how can this possibly be the laws of the universe won't permit it. The angel said I'll tell you the answer.

The answer is God is going to suspend the laws of the universe. Mary he's done it for your relative Elizabeth and now is going to do it for you for with God nothing is impossible. That's the simple answer that he gives Mary looking Mary's response.

Verse 38. She said I am the Lord's servants. I belong to you, Lord, may be unto me, exactly the way you said this is what you want to do to me Lord and that's great.

I may not understand this great and then the angel left. This is the announcement of the birth of Jesus Christ commonly called the Annunciation if you want the fancy word. And yet, in spite of the tremendous beauty of the passage. The question that we still have to answer for modern-day living is what so what extra and I want to spend the rest of our time now not defending the virgin birth, because I've done that another messages and if you want to defense of the virgin birth from a theological point of view go out there and order. One of the tapes and we've done that before but I want to spend the rest of my time here assuming the virgin birth is true because I believe it's true. And I hope you do answering the question. Well, in light of what we read. If it's true, so lots of differences that make to me in the 20th century, and I have to.

So what I normally don't but there were two things here that was so pressing that I spent all week trying to figure out which one of my going to do and finally decided why not doing both.

So I and I hope both of them will be meaningful for you. So what number one is this the events of the virgin birth teach us a great lesson about God's