December 1, 2024 NOTES NOT EDITED
Advent 2024: A Moment of Love
Luke 2:1-7, et. al.
Nobody understands true love more than a couple who have been married for 50, 60, or more years. Romantic passions change over time along with our aging bodies, but the passion is always still there when two people love each other. Years I ago read a story about an older couple that brought tears to my eyes. The wife said one day, “We’ve been married for 50 years. Things have really changed.” As her husband listened intently from his chair across the room, the wife continued, “You used to snuggle up so close to me but now you sit on the other side of the room.” The husband smiled and replied, “Well, I can fix that. He wiggled out of his easy chair and made his way to the sofa where his wife was sitting. “How’s that?” he said, as he put his arm around her. The wife smiled with contentment saying, “And, do you remember how you used to nibble on my earlobe?” Suddenly with an uncharacteristic burst of energy the husband jumped up and headed out of the room. Surprised, the wife shouted, “Where are you going?” The husband shouted back . . . “to get my teeth!”
One of the challenges to keeping love passionate through the years is good communication. That gets more challenging as we start losing our hearing due to age. I remember one couple was celebrating their Golden Anniversary, or 50 years of marriage. Their children threw them a really nice party. It was time for the couple to stand and tell each other how much they were loved and appreciated. The husband stood up first. Now keep in mind the man’s wife was very, very hard of hearing. With a noticeable gleam in his eye the husband started his short speech of admiration for his wife. “My Dear Wife, after 50 years of marriage I have found you to be ALWAYS TRIED AND TRUE!” Before the man could begin another word, the wife jumped to her feet and shouted, “Well, after 50 years of marriage, I’m tired of you, too!”
Well, come this December 14th,
Lord willing, Shari and I will celebrate 45 years together. I hope she feels
I’ve been “tried and true.”
Love is the most powerful force in the universe.
So powerful in fact that it can “never
fail” according to the Bible (1Cor 13:8). Even psychologists understand the power of
love. Here’s what Psychology Today
reported in an article a few years ago. 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.
Read
Luke 2:1–7 (NIV84)
1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to his own town to register. 4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
The most remarkable aspect of God’s
transforming love is that it
1.
God’s Love Changes Our Value
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 changes our value. Satan hates us. The
world at best may ignore us, but God Loves Us. That makes all the
difference. 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).
That’s a pretty special demonstration of how
valuable God thinks you are. I don’t
think many people make the connection these days between Christmas and Easter,
but they are two sides of the same coin of God’s love. Since Jesus is God the Son, the Second Person
of the Trinity, the Cross tells us that God, Himself, died for us to pay the
penalty for our sins. This reminds me of the verse:
Greater love has no man than
this,
but to lay down his life for a friend. (John 15:13)
When I think about how God’s love makes
people valuable, I think of the
shepherds in the hills that
night. Look at verses 8-15:
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
We’ve heard that story so many times. I don’t think we in this modern industrial
age, separated from that Bethlehem night by over 2000 years, really appreciate
just how marvelous this part of the Christmas story really is.
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 changes
our Purpose
4 And
Joseph also went . . . with Mary. This leads me to ask one
important question: “Where are you going in your
life?”
ἀναβαίνω,
anabainō “to rise from the depths to the heights.” It is used for
climbing aboard a ship, mounting a horse or climbing a mountain (T.D.N.T.) Or,
“move with a purpose” (JKC)
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.”
Christmas is about the transforming power of
God’s love. God’s love makes us
purposeful. God had a purpose for Joseph
(and everyone else in the Christmas Story), and God has a purpose for you.
3. God’s Love
Changes Who and How We WORSHIP
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; even kiss another’s feet.” 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. God’s
love makes us eternal. In the theme song
from the movie, “Love Story,” the lyrics ask the question: “How
long does it last
Can love be measured by the hours in a day?”
The answer to this question is, “God’s love is eternal.” God’s love is not measure by the breadth of
our days but by the depth of God’s heart.
God is eternal. Receiving His
love makes us eternal.
Christmas is about a lot of things I suppose,
but right up at the top of the list, Christmas a Story of Love, especially the love
of God. I’m afraid that within a week
after Christmas day, many people will box up Christmas 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.
Our
lives are not measured in “minutes,” but by “moments”— significant
events and experiences that change our lives significantly. Our lives are
impacted by moments even
before we were born. The moment my Dad and Mom fell in love. The moment the
discovered my older
brother wasn’t their favorite child (I’m the second-born favorite child). The
moment I joined the
Navy on a dare that eventually led me to California Baptist College where I met
the love of my life,
Shari. Not
all defining moments are pleasant
and happy. Like the moment we buried our daughter, Amanda.
Life is full of significant moments—defining moments. Our lives are not built
minute by minute but moment by moment.
And . . . there is no more significant “moment” in
anybody’s life than the moment we realize that God SO LOVED us that He gave His One and Only Son to die
for us so that we would not perish in hell but could have eternal life.
That Moment of Love Changes Everything.
Let it change you!
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