The Wonder of His Birth

Introduction

Childbirth is messy.

A pen where animals live is messy and stinky.

Shepherds who were invited to the birth were messy and stinky people. They lived with sheep.

If messy and smelly shepherds were invited to see the baby Jesus then certainly God invites us to know him as well.

Our lives are messy aren’t they?

Our houses, our school, our friendships, our lives aren’t perfect…they are hard.

Our bedrooms and classrooms are messy.

They are messy.

But do you remember what we read last week? Let’s read it again.

Hebrews 4:14–16 ESV

14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

The high priest was the person who went and stood before God and said, “Here you go. Here is the payment for all the sins of the people. Don’t punish them for their messy, sinful lives.”

It says in verse 16 that we can draw near to God’s throne…we can come close to God with confidence.

What does it look like to have confidence?

We can talk to God in the middle our messy lives with confidence that we will receive mercy and find grace to help us in our needs.

Mercy is witholding punishment we deserve.

How many times have you received mercy in your lives…not getting what you deserve as punishment?

Grace is giving us favor, a gift we don’t deserve.

How many times have you received favors you don’t deserve?

Romans 5:8 ESV

8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

The Bible teaches that even while we were still doing bad things. Even when we deserved punishment, Jesus gave His life for us.

I love that God describes Himself as a shepherd

What kid can tell me what a shepherd did?

What did a shepherd do?

Psalm 23:1 ESV

1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Psalm 23:6 ESV

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

David talked about a life of blessing as if God’s mercy and goodness were actually following him wherever he went.

Jesus talked about God like a shepherd.

God loves us like a shepherd loves messy, dirty sheep.

Matthew 18:12–13 ESV

12 What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? 13 And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray.

How would you like to be like that sheep?

Matthew 18:14 ESV

14 So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

God loves you just like a shepherd willing to leave behind all the other sheep to find you!

Let’s read this account of the shepherds coming to see Jesus.

Luke 2:16–19 ESV

16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.

It wasn’t smart, good looking people. It was shepherds in their mess who got to see Jesus first. It was shepherds with their mess and smell who first told others about Jesus.

God loves each and every one of you with your mess.

God loves you despite the messes you make of relationships or sin in your life.

Jesus came to messy smelly people to bring God’s message of hope.

I love that even while preparing to deliver us with the cross He was also teaching His disciples how to pray.

Matthew 6:13 ESV

13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Sometimes the biggest messes in our lives are the ones we create when we give in to temptation, when we sin.

Today I believe God wants you to know He loves you right where you are in the middle of the mess of your life.

If you’ve never invited Jesus into the mess of your life you can do so today and experience God’s forgiveness.

If you have walked with God for years and still feel the mess of your life, know that God loves you and desires to continue to renew and change you. God isn’t waiting for you to be over your mess before He can use you. He wants to work in and through you in your mess. He loves you like a shepherd.

The final part of the wonder of Christmas we we are looking at is the Wonder of His Birth.

Jesus came miraculously fulfilling thousands of years of prophecy to be our savior. That’s a wonderful birth!

But

Jesus also came to a little (poor?) family in a smelly stable. The first people God told about Jesus were smelly shepherds that everyone looked down on. Jesus came to people in their mess and brought hope.

Embrace the wonder of the reality that God loves us in our mess.

Ask God to help you with your mess today.

Choose to walk with Jesus in your mess.

Know the wonder of God’s love in your mess.