2 Realities Of The Birth Of Christ

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There are a lot of things that we can and have taken away from these pages in scripture. However, there are only two things we are going to look at today. 1) The willingness of an individual to submit to God’s will and 2) That God is close to those that are seen as the powerless and the forgotten in this world.

Biblical Text -

Luke 1:26–38 NKJV
Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible.” Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
Luke 2:8–20 NKJV
Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.

-[Prayer]-

Life Principle - A Person Who Is Willing To Serve Will Also Experience The Closeness Of God.

Life Point- The Willingness Of Mary To Serve God

Exegetical -

Luke 1:26–28 NKJV
Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”
I am not sure about you, but if I were to come into my house and there is this Holy Angel surrounded by the glory of God in my house I would have been in awe, fear, and a bit stammering.
Think about this a minute. Here is a young girl and I say girl because that is what she was. She was barely a teenager by our standards. She comes in to the place and here is an angel & the first thing he says is “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”
I would certainly been a little fearful too. What a jarring experience. But that isn’t the half of what is about to transpire here.
Luke 1:29–33 NKJV
But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
I looked up the word troubled and the definition doesn’t really convey the emotion of this miraculous event. Troubled here is defined in the Greek as being acutely distressed and mentally disturbed. I would say she was freaking out, afraid, and yes troubled.
Then she was like, “what does he mean by this greeting?” What is he saying, what is going on here.
Rather than going straight ahead with the message, I think Gabriel noticed that the girl was in shock, just over his appearing and his greeting. So he tries to comfort her and says “don’t be afraid.”
Now think about this. If you say to me “don’t be afraid” the first thing that hits my mind is uh-oh something big is about to happen. Now for me, when someone says that it is like OK now I am afraid. Kind of like when someone asks “Are you sitting down? NO, you might want to sit down for a minute.”
Then the rest of this sentence is “don’t be afraid, you have found favor with God.” Now first of all, we looking back know that this could go either way. We know that anytime in the Old Testament the angels showed up there was big task ahead of us, and it won’t be easy or pain free. We know that the Israelites will be either happy or angry depending on what the next thing is that God will have us do. Either way we are elated at the moment because an angel just said “you have found favor with God.”
But now here comes the astounding part.
Luke 1:31–33 NKJV
And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
Now, Mary isn’t dumb, she knows how babies are made so she asks a very important question.
Luke 1:34 NKJV
Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”
You see virgin birth is far from her mind here. She is like every other person in Israel. They were looking for a political figure, a conquering king to throw off Roman Oppression.
So she is thinking. You mean I am going to conceive a child who is going to be the saviour of my people? Well thats great! One problem, Gabriel. I’m not married and have not known a man. So you point me in the right direction and speed up this marriage thing with Joseph and we will get right on this promise of the Messiah.
But how many times does God do something that makes sense to us? Not many right?
Luke 1:35–38 NKJV
And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible.” Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
You know what is interesting here is how willing Mary was to serve God in whatever capacity she was given. She knows that in her day being pregnant without a husband is certainly going to cost her a lot, especially if Joseph decides not to take her as a wife.
Her social standing will be ruined, if she isn’t stoned to death first because she came up pregnant without being married.She was betrothed to a man at this point. Legal things have taken place. Promises have been made. She broke her solemn word and now could be treated as a woman caught in adultery and could have been stoned to death.
Plus, without Joseph marrying her who would believe in a virgin birth? Would you? Of course not.
Thankfully we know that Joseph who was going to put her away quietly was visited by an angel and he took her as his wife.
Matthew 1:19–25 NKJV
Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus.
You see despite all the social pressures that existed, despite the foolishness this event was to the world. Mary was willing to trust God, as was Joseph. In that moment her friend, family, and upcoming nuptials didn’t matter. It was whatever God wanted is what she would do.
One was the last time you said to God. God, not whatever I want but whatever is your will that will I do.\
Jesus had this same moment with the father when he prayed in the Garden the night before his crucifixion where he sweated drops of blood, knowing that not only would He die for something He didn’t do, but that the actual sins of those in the entire world, throughout history, were about to be put on Him. He was about to become the sin offering so that we could be made and seen clean before the Father.
Luke 22:39–44 NKJV
Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him. When He came to the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
Have you ever said, knowing that it might well cost you everything you have, maybe even your sanity said to God; not what I want father, but whatever your will is that is what I want to do. Help me to do it.
If you have never come to the end of yourself and found Jesus standing there ready to change you if you but ask, then why not today?
If a teenage girl can have her life radically changed by God, why not you?

Life Point - The Reality Of How Personal God Is

Exegetical -

Luke 2:1–20 NKJV
And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.

Homiletical -

Just a couple of things here that I would like to note.
First, notice that our saviour didn’t come from Royalty or from the Sadducees or Pharisees. He came from the common man. He came for everyone. Not just the elite.
On the night of his birth there were angels that appeared to the shepherds. Those that were just doing their jobs. This day started out as a day unlike any other for them.
They would have been the last ones according to the world’s standards that you would want to reveal Christ to. They were the lowliest of the low. They weren’t the movers and shakers of their society, they were nobodies.
The God we serve is concerned for the lowliest of the lowliest of people. Not just the rich and the powerful. We are not just another number to God. We are individuals. We are personal and God wants to have a personal relationship with each of us. He wants to change our personal worlds so that when God becomes real to us we do what the shepherds did.
Luke 2:20 NKJV
Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.
They weren’t quiet. They were praising God. The Greek here means to speak of something that is unusually honorable. This was an unusual event. To glorify and praise is not to be quiet or timid about something, but to speak loudly and honorably about something.
People aren’t supposed to be quiet when it comes to a personal saviour. We are to be loud about the change that He has made inside of us. We are to be loud about the power that He demonstrates in making us new.
You see you were heading along minding your own sinful business and Jesus came in and you turned the other way. You were made new. For all your problems, mistakes and hypocrisies that still plague you. You can say that I am a blood bought child of God. Past, present, and future. From now to forevermore.
Romans 8:1 and following becomes who you are. Oh you may fall and you may not be completely there yet. But you see according to the scripture you are not perfect, but He ain’t done with you yet. He is still cleaning you up. But the one thing you do know is What Romans says.
Romans 8:1–4 NKJV
There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Philippians 1:6 NKJV
being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;
You can be free from sin. Why? because this baby born in a manger, lived a sinless life and took upon the sins of the world so that you could be made right with God. He died in your place. You deserve to be in Hell for all Eternity, but Jesus doesn’t want to see that so He took upon the likeness of flesh to be that perfect sacrifice for your sin and my sin. The season isn’t about some lowly baby in a manger, but is about God in flesh.
It is about the sin sacrifice on the cross of the perfect one who can make us new. What will you do with Him today?

Life Principle

Call to Action – altar call….

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