December 9, 2018 NOTES
NOT EDITED
Advent 2015: A Wonderful Love
Luke 2:1-7, et. al.
SIS—Christmas is about a “Wonderful Love” that changes everything.
If you google the
word, “love,” you will get millions of hits.
“Love” is very popular because
love is very powerful. A person can
get through some really tough times in life if he or she is experiencing
love. George Bailey and his new bride,
Mary, didn’t have much and their first house was . . . well, not much. The windows were broken. The roof leaked. And, pay attention the knob at the end of the
banister—it has a part in a couple of scenes.
They didn’t have much by way of worldly goods but, they had love. Let’s peak in and see that love.
PLAY CLIP: Honeymoon Scene.
That’s the power of
love! Even psychologists understand the
power of love. Here’s what Psychology Today reported in an
article:
Love
is as critical for your mind and body as oxygen. It's not negotiable. ….the
less love you have, the more depression
you are likely to experience in your life. Love is probably the best antidepressant there is
because one of the most common sources of depression is feeling unloved.
Love is powerful, but few people really
recognize just how powerful and transforming love can be. Even fewer people understand the “ultimate,
transforming power of God’s love.” God’s love literally changes everything.The Christmas Story is the “Ultimate Love” story. It far surpasses the dark love of Romeo and Juliet or the human love of Robert Redford and in “A Love Story.” God’s love is the “ultimate transforming power” in the universe. Let’s read of that love in the Christmas Story.
CLIP: Linus reciting LUKE 2:1-7
The most remarkable aspect of God’s transforming love is that it
1. Makes us VALUABLE
Think of the “stuff” in your life. The stuff that you love the most has the most value. Unfortunately, many people love the “stuff” in their lives more than they do the people in their lives. But that’s another sermon.
God’s love makes us valuable. In fact, the Bible says this about how valuable we are to God:
God loved us so much that he
showed it in this way: He sent His only
Son to die on the cross in our place. (John 3:16, paraphrase).
Greater love has no man than
this,
but to lay down his life for a friend. (John 15:13)
but to lay down his life for a friend. (John 15:13)
8 In the same region,
shepherds were staying out in the fields and keeping watch at night over their
flock. 9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before
them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were
terrified. 10 But the
angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid,
for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all
the people: 11 Today a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord,
was born for you in the city of David. 12 This will be
the sign for you: You will find a baby
wrapped snugly in cloth and lying in a feeding trough.” 13 Suddenly
there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and
saying: 14 Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people He favors! v
The contrast between what the world thought about shepherds and what God thought about them is a contrast of cosmic proportions. Shepherds were part of the lowest rung of society in the first century. They were held in such contempt that they were not even allowed to be a witness in a court of law. They were considered, “shady characters with very low morals.”
Also, the Jewish community held shepherds in particular contempt because not only were they “shady citizens,” but their occupation made them ritually unclean because of their constant contact with animal waste, as well as dead and sick animals.
The shepherds were outcasts in society. Nobody in the community valued the shepherds. But God valued them. God valued them so highly that they were not only “witnesses” to what happened, they were the first witnesses. And, God not only told them what had taken place, but God treated these lowly shepherds to the most glorious choir that had ever given praise on earth.
Perhaps God valued them because He understood that shepherds would have a keen insight to what it meant for Jesus to be, “the Lamb of God sacrificed for the whole world.”
This is a truly remarkable part of the Christmas Story and proves that God’s love makes a person VALUABLE.
2. God’s love makes us PURPOSEFUL
4 And Joseph also went . . . with Mary.
Every soul that enters this world is created with PURPOSE. It doesn’t matter whether you are born rich or poor, famous or obscure, or whether anybody outside of a few close friends or family ever know you existed—you have a God-given purpose for being born.
Consider Joseph and Mary. I’m not sure you could have found a more ordinary couple in all the world. Joseph was a hard-working carpenter and Mary was a teen-ager probably not more than 16 or 17. They were from a very obscure village called Bethlehem. This place is so small and obscure some scholars doubted it even existed. But, of course it does.
I doubt when Mary was born that her parents thought: “one day, Mary will give birth to God!” Now, I know parents can have great hopes and aspirations for their children—and parents should have great hopes and aspirations for their children—but, “giving birth to God” probably never crossed their minds.
And, what about Joseph. He was just a lowly, blue-collar, dirt-under-his-fingernails-craftsman. Do you think his parents said when he was born, “One day, he’ll be the step-father of God!” Wow! I get chills just thinking about that.
Not only does the love of God make you “valuable,” but it makes you “purposeful.” Everything we know about the universe demonstrates that it is “highly designed.” Everything has a purpose, especially human beings. Everything about Christmas demonstrates the highly purposeful, greatly detailed plan of God at work. Joseph didn’t meet Mary by accident. It was all part of God’s plan before the “foundations of the world were even created.”
Ephesians 2:10 spells it out clearly, For we are His creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them.
Did you catch those words, “prepared ahead of time!” I have a little sister named Becky. She is the baby of the family and, according to my Mom, she came as quite a surprise. Many children come as a “surprise” to the parents, but I want you to know that “nobody comes as a surprise to God.”
Every person on earth is created to fulfill a unique purpose. Do not forget that. God makes this clear to Joseph in a dream because Joseph was having a little trouble with Mary’s story. Let me give you Mary’s story in a paraphrase. One strategic moment Mary came to Joseph and said, “Joseph, I have something very important–and very strange to tell you. Please hear me out. Please don’t get angry.” Everything we see of Joseph in the Word of God (which is not much) indicates that he was a very kind and gentle man. Joseph replied, “Yes, dear. What is on your heart? You can tell me anything. I love you more than life itself.” Mary continued, “I’m pregnant. But, it’s not what you think! I’ve not been unfaithful. I’m still a virgin. This is God’s child. It’s a miracle.”
Well, for a devout young Jewish man, this was devastating news. How many men would have bought Mary’s story? Not many I suppose. So, God intervened to reassure Joseph that all this was according to the purpose God had for Joseph’s life.
Mat 1 18 The birth of Jesus Christ came about this
way: After His mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, it was discovered before
they came together that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit. 19 So her husband Joseph,
being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her publicly, decided to
divorce her secretly. 20 But
after he had considered these things, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to
him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as
your wife, because what has been conceived in her is by the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a
son, and you are to name Him Jesus, b
because He will save His people from their sins.” 22 Now all
this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the
prophet: 23 See, the virgin
will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name Him Immanuel,
which is translated “God is with us.”
3. God’s love makes us WORSHIPFUL
Some of the most interesting characters in the Christmas Story are the Three Wise Men, or the Three Kings from the East. Matt. 2 1After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east arrived unexpectedly in Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”
Quite a bit of folklore has arisen in regard to these strange travelers. They have even been given names. "according to Western church tradition, Balthasar is often represented as a king of Arabia, Melchior as a king of Persia, and Gaspar as a king of India." Of course, this is nothing more than folklore. The Bible doesn’t name the Wise Men. In fact, the Bible doesn’t even say there are three of them.
Most scholars feel that “from the East” refers to Persia, or modern Iran. There is a very old tradition that these “Wise Men” (magi, in Persian) came from Chaldea, or modern day Iraq. The Israelites had at one time been captives to both these countries.
Regardless of the exact homeland for these travelling men of influence, they travelled very far. By the time they arrive in Bethlehem, Jesus is no longer a “brephos,” or infant, but a “paidion,” or toddler. The Holy Family is no longer in a stable but in a house. So the journey was very long.
Whatever their origin, the reason for travelling to Bethlehem was crystal clear. Verse 2 says the Wise men, “came to worship him who was born the King of the Jews.”
Worship is a translation of the word, προσκυνῆσαι, which means to “bow in honor or adoration.” Worship is not so much something we do, but it is an attitude that we have toward God. It is an all-consuming desire to interact with and work for Almighty God. I define worship as the attitude, “All of me, for all of Him, All the time.” True worship is something only a true believer can give. It transcends “religion” and involves a deep and abiding relationship with God because of Who He is—the King of the Jews, the Christ, or the Messiah. All these terms refer to Jesus Christ as being Almighty God, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity.
When someone comes to recognize Who Jesus really is, that person cannot help but want to worship. A desire to interact with God and serve Him becomes the all-consuming passion of those who come to realize that Almighty God loves us.
The transforming love of God makes us Worshipful. The power of God’s love as demonstrated in the Christmas story makes us valuable, purposeful, worshipful, and most importantly of all:
4. God’s transforming love makes us ETERNAL
For most people, in America especially, Christmas is just a date on the calendar and an occasion for fun activities. But, Christmas is more than lights on the tree, treats baking in the oven, or even the annual presentation of a church Christmas pageant.
Christmas is about Christ. This may shock you but Christmas is not so much about the “birth” of Jesus as it is the “death” of Jesus. Unless one comes to understand “why” Jesus was born, then Christmas loses the most important aspect of it’s wonderful, transforming love.
Christmas is not about a baby being born, but it’s really about you being “born-again.” Look at Luke 2:11: Today a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord, was born for you in the city of David.
The angel could have identified Jesus in many ways: Teacher, Healer, Miracle-Worker, or Prophet, among others. But, in the inaugural message of Jesus’ birth, Jesus is identified as “Savior.” There is no article (a, or the) in the original text, which is a means by which Greek puts an emphasis on a noun. The most important designation for God the Son Who became a man was “Savior.”
The word, “savior,” from “soter,” refers to someone who delivers others from peril. It was often used for medical workers in the first century, doctors if you will, because they delivered people from disease. It was even used of philosophers who would deliver people from ignorance. The most often employment of the word was for a military general who would deliver people from an enemy.
In the Christmas sense, it is used of Jesus who would be, as John the Baptist declared, “the Lamb of God Who would die to take away the sins of man.”
I’m sure there are a lot of things you think you need this Christmas—and you are probably correct. But your greatest need cannot be filled with anything material, or temporal, or of this world. Your greatest need is “Eternal.” God’s transforming love makes you Eternal—that is gives you eternal life. In a sense, everyone is “eternal” the moment one is born. Everyone will continue forever. Death is the end of the body, but not the soul. Everybody will be going one of two places after death—an eternal heaven, or an eternal hell.
Christmas is about God’s plan to give you eternal life. That first Christmas God gave us all the most important gift He could ever give – The Savior. We are all condemned by our sin. We are all in bondage to sin. We need a Savior, a Deliverer, A Rescuer, a Messiah. Jesus is that Savior, Deliverer, Rescuer, and Messiah.
Christmas is about a lot of things I suppose, but right up at the top of the list, Christmas is about the Wonderful Love of God. I’m afraid that within a week, for most people, Christmas will be boxed up and put away for another year. That is a great tragedy. Christmas is not about a “day,” but about a Wonderful, Loving God Who came to earth to invite us to heaven.
On Sunday, December 22nd a few years ago, on the last day of work before Christmas break, Carnell Taylor was working on a crew repairing the Interstate 64 Bridge over the Elizabeth River in Virginia. The road was icy, and a pickup truck slid out of control striking Taylor and knocking him into the icy river. His pelvis and several bones were broken. Joseph Brisson was the captain of a river barge that was on the river that icy day. Brisson saw Taylor get hit and knocked into the river and made a split second, life or death decision. He knew Taylor would die quickly in the swift, icy waters. Brisson dived into the water fighting the current to swim to Taylor. He grabbed Taylor and said, “Don’t worry buddy I got you.” The current was too strong to swim to safety and eventually the cold caused Brisson to lose his grip on Taylor. So Brisson wrapped his legs around Taylor’s waste to keep him afloat in the current until a rescue team in a small boat could reach them. It took thirty minutes for the rescue team to reach Brisson and Taylor. The team pulled the two into the small boat. Taylor was hospitalized for broken bones and Brisson was treated for hypothermia. A loving act saved a dying man.
This story illustrates the Christmas Story not just because it happened at Christmas time, but because it demonstrates the truth that we are in peril and God acted in a loving, selfless love to send us a “Soter,” or a rescuer, deliverer, Messiah. The sacrificial, loving act of sending Jesus, His Only Son, to earth changed everything for anyone who would accept that Christmas Gift. The Wonderful Love of God changes everything. Let it change you!
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