More in the Manger than Meets the Eye
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Our text this morning is Titus 3:3-7:
But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
May God bless this the reading of His holy and infallible Word.
As a small child, Christmas morning was magical to me. All the good things I had hoped for suddenly appeared under a beautifully lite Christmas tree! Of course, it was not magic, there was a lot of preparation that went on behind the scenes to make that moment magical: clandestine shopping trips, hours spent by my mother baking goodies and decorating the house and late nights as my father assembled toys which came with inscrutable instructions!
The Christmas story is like that for most people, they see the baby Jesus lying in a manger, Mary and Joseph beside Him, surrounded by animals and shepherd—but they do not see the true significance of the baby in the Manger. Our Scripture lesson this morning we read of the “appearing” of “goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appearing in order to save us”. The context makes it clear that this “appearing” was the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Greek word translated, “appeared” in our English bibles, speaks of the appearing of something when it is illuminated by light. As a boy I can remember driving to my aunt’s house for Christmas. We would leave late afternoon when my dad got off work. By the time we pulled out our drive way it was already dark. I would fall asleep, but I always hoped to wake up before we got there, because there was that moment that the lights of Post, Texas would suddenly “appear” in the distance. It was a thrill, because at that moment I knew we were almost at my aunt and uncle’s house.
I can imagine the shepherds had a similar feeling when they found the baby the angels told them about. Not only had the shepherds had to journey to Bethlehem that night, but they were a part of a people who had been on a long journey of faith. Ever since the promise was first given to Adam and Eve, God’s people had looked for the Promised Seed, now suddenly it “appeared” in their sight! Just image the thrill in their hearts!
Few today have that same thrill. For most the birth of Jesus is not Good News, but rather Old News. It is no longer on the front page, but is found buried near the classifieds. Using Titus 3:3-7, we will discover anew that there is More in the Manger than Meets the Eye.
The first thing we see laying in the Manger is mercy; not just a little mercy, but abundant mercy!
In the Manger is Found Abundant Mercy
In the Manger is Found Abundant Mercy
This is found in vs. 5. Notice, how the previous verse, vs. 4, begins with the word “but”. The “appearing of the goodness and loving kindness of God…according to mercy” is being contrasted to something else. Let us look at what this something else is:
For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.
In other words, when God the Father mercifully sent His only begotten Son to this world, He did so to a world that was deserving of His judgement and wrath. This is why it is called “mercy”. When Paul uses the word “we”, he is not excluding anyone, even himself! To his beloved Timothy, Paul said that “Christ came into the world to save sinner, of who I am the foremost” (1 Tim 1:15). One of the reasons people fail to see the true significance of Christmas is because they fail to see the true magnitude of their sin. They do not see themselves in need of God’s mercy, consequently they do not see the true significance of the Christ child.
While I am not advocating the Easter Orthodox Church’s use of the ancient prayer called the “Jesus Prayer”, I will have to admit to you that there is rarely a day that goes by that I do not silently pray, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner”. I pray this prayer for mercy, not only because I have a low self-esteem, but because I see my sin for what it really is—a rebellion against God. As R. C. Sproul use to remind people, even the smallest sin is a cosmic rebellion!
There is another reason why we need God the Father’s mercy, it is because we need God the Holy Spirit’s power. This brings us to the second thing we find in the Manger:
In the Manger is Found Great Power
In the Manger is Found Great Power
In vs. 5, we read that God saves us by the “regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit”. In this phrase, Paul is speaking of what Jesus calls “being born again” (Jn 3:1-8). In that passage, Jesus explains to Nicodemus that a person cannot “enter” or even “see” the Kingdom of God without being born again. The reason we must be “born again” is because ever since Adam sinned the first sin, all humanity has been “dead in their trespasses and sins”. Dead people cannot make themselves spiritually alive—they must be born again!
Laying within the Manger of Bethlehem was the beginning of the end of the reign of sin, death and the Devil!
In His human flesh Jesus was weak and frail, but in His divine nature He was omnipotent and had His divine authority; and by that authority He sends the third member of the Godhead—the Holy Spirit.
In Mark’s Gospel we have a story of a man whose son need deliverance from demonic possession. This man’s conversation reveals why we need Christ to give us mercy and power:
And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” And Jesus said to him, “ ‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”
This man recognizes that we never have perfect faith, we daily need the Father’s mercy and the Holy Spirit’s power to believe as we should.
There is still more in the Manger than meets the eye—the riches of Christ.
In the Manger is Found Incalculable Riches
In the Manger is Found Incalculable Riches
This is found in vs.6:
whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,
In Christ, the Father’s mercy and the Holy Spirit’s is not rationed out to us, but is poured out on us richly!
In this life we have to live by a budget. No matter how loving and generous you are—there were limits to what you could give this Christmas to those you love. Even the richest person in the world has limits.
Christ has no limits!
When the Apostle Paul considered how he should pray for the Christians in Ephesus, he prayed like this:
I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might
Paul prayed like this for the Ephesians, because he prayed like this for himself. We all fail to see and appreciate the riches we have in Christ Jesus. There is so much more in the manger, than meets the eye!
As I close this brief Christmas Eve message, I know that there are still some who doubt that they can be the recipient of the Father’s mercy, the Spirit’s power and the Son’s riches. If you are that person listen to what Paul says to the Romans:
For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him.
If you judge yourself unworthy of God’s mercy and grace, you have made a distinction. God does not make distinctions! God promises to bestow His riches in Christ upon all who call upon Him!
Does that “all” include you? Your sin and inability are not greater than that tiny Baby—there is more in the Manger than meets the eye!