Advent- The Arrival of the King

Introduction:

As we continue with our worship of the Lord this morning, I want to invite you to grab a Bible and open up to Luke 2:1-20 with me this morning as we Celebrate the Birth of Christ.

There is no doubt in my mind that many of you are familiar with this passage. Many of you know it very well. Many of you know the importance of this text… and yet… it is good for our souls to open up this word and see this old old story. It is good for us to remember what we are celebrating as we gather together this morning.

Let’s look at this text together...

2 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole empire should be registered. 2 This first registration took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. 3 So everyone went to be registered, each to his own town. 4 Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family line of David, 5 to be registered along with Mary, who was engaged to him and was pregnant. 6 While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 Then she gave birth to her firstborn son, and she wrapped him tightly in cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. 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 in the city of David a Savior was born for you, who is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be the sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped tightly in cloth and lying in a manger.” 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!,, 15 When the angels had left them and returned to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go straight to Bethlehem and see what has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 They hurried off and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby who was lying in the manger. 17 After seeing them, they reported the message they were told about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary was treasuring up all these things in her heart and meditating on them. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had seen and heard, which were just as they had been told. (Luke 2:1-20)

As we think about this text this morning, let us take a few moments to prepare our hearts so that the Lord may speak to us this morning.

Let’s pray together!

Advent-The Arrival of the King.

That is what our sermon series has been able this Advent season… and now we are finally here. That is hard to imagine. I do not know what it is.... I don't know if it is because I am getting older or if I am becoming worse at time management… but this season has gone quick. Was it that way for you?

The season is gone, well for the most part, but what we celebrate is not gone. It is not like we celebrate Christ only at Christmas. Christ is the foundation of our faith. At this time we slow down to focus our hearts on the true meaning of Christmas so that our hearts and minds do not get lost in the ways of the world. This is our way of holding each other accountable. This is our way of trying to encourage one another to love and good works...... this is our way of trying to remind each other that this season is more than the lies of this world. We go through this series to remind ourselves that Christ is more valuable than anything else in the whole world.

And Today.... we get to celebrate what we have been preparing for all along. We started off this season reading this text and now I want us to come back to this text, with everything that we have talked about- Preparing Him room, Our need for this King, and Understanding who this King is- so that we can get a better view of what is being said here in this text.

Body:

As we think about this text, and what we typically call the Christmas story as a whole, there are a few things that I want us to see from this text that should speak volumes.

God Is In Control.

I know that this is not stated explicitly in this text. Nowhere will you find these words.... but you have to see what is going on here to see it.

It just so happens, while Mary is pregnant, that Caesar sends out a decree, which is a command that must be followed, is sent out to the whole Roman empire that they must be registered. This forces Joseph to go back to his hometown of Bethlehem because he was of the family of David to be registered… and Mary goes with him… because she is well… pregnant and engaged to him. This registration was counting family units or Mary did not want to be left alone… both are possible here. This is not the point though. The point is not that a census is being taken… that is what is moving them to Bethlehem… but God has a different motive.

God had promised that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. So, to fulfill His Word... God moves the entire Roman empire to get Mary and Joseph to the place where they need to be.

Isn’t that something? The decree goes out from Caesar… but God is the one who is behind this act. What would seem like a major inconvenience to a pregnant family...... what would seem like an interruption of plans… God is using to bring the fruition of His Word.

Don’t lose sight of this. I know that your life can seem crazy and out of control at times… that is all of us. Life seems to make no sense. We do not understand what is going on around us. Things seem to happen at the worse time possible.... but We have to remember that God is the One in Control. Do not lose sight of this truth. God is in Control.

The next thing that we see here is that

God Sees The Seemingly Insignificant

When we are talking about the birth of Christ, everything about this story lets us know that God sees and uses what the rest of the world would write off as not important.

Take Joseph for example, what do we know about him? The truth of the matter is, we do not really know a whole lot about him. We know that he is from the Family line of David, which is important, and we know that he is lives in Nazareth when he gets engaged to Mary. We know that he is a righteous man who, upon a message from an angel, listens to God and marries Mary despite the fact that she is pregnant with a child. Besides these things, there is not much more information about him.... and truth be told, we would not know this if God did not reveal this to us.

The same is true for Mary. What do we really know about her? Again, not a whole lot. She was a young girl who was engaged to a guy named Joseph, who so happened to live in the small town of Nazareth. What we do know about her we only know because God revealed it to us.

Or you could like of the of the place where Jesus is born… in Bethlehem.... a small little town outside of Jerusalem. NOT a whole lot going on there.

Or, take for the fact of who the news is announced to first… it is not told to the religious leaders… it is not told to kings.. or to those who had authority.... the news of Jesus’ birth was told to some shepherds who were out in the fields.

Everything about this text just screams that God sees the small and insignificant. And this should give us courage and hope. Have you ever felt that you were all alone and wondering if God even saw you? Like you… little o you down here in Scioto County, OH.... one of the poorest counties in OH. Like who are you that the God of the universe would see you?

The truth of the matter, and what see from this text, is that God does see you. God does care about you and your life. God has not forgotten you. He sees you right where you are and He is here for you. Don’t think for a moment, just because 7 billion people in the world have no clue who you are, that you are not seen and loved by God. That is is what we are seeing in and through this text this morning. The God of the Universe see you. Hold onto that!

The third thing that I want us to see from this text is...

God Is To Be Praised.

We can so often miss this at and around the Christmas season. Our culture wants to make Christmas about so many different things… and I really do not have the time to get into all of the arguments right now… but what this season should remind us is that God is the one who is to be worshiped and praised for what He has done. Right?

We see this in two places in the text:

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!,,

and down in verse 20

20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had seen and heard, which were just as they had been told.

We see here that both the Angels and the shepherd focused their eyes and attention on GOD.... They worshipped HIM… not the stuff that God did… as great as it was.... Don’t hear me miss speak on this. I am not saying that the angels and shepherds were not excited about the birth of Christ.... but notice where their focus went… it was not on the gift but on the giver. They worshipped God for what HE HAD DONE..... and what HE Had DONE was give himself.

Think about this for your won life for a moment. What has God done in your life that you need to praise HIM for? What Has God given you that you need to take the time today.... as we celebrate Christmas… the giving of the ultimate gift… to take some time today and just worship Him? That would be the correct way to spend some time this Christmas.

It is not just about songs and giving… NO! All of these things are to be done unto God. God loves a cheerful giver....so when we give gifts to others.... when we do it cheerfully we are doing it as an act of Worship to God. When we sing songs… as great as they are… they are to be done unto God. In everything that we do… God is to be glorified… . to be praised… to be worshipped.

There are a few more things that I want us to see from this text, and I am going to move a little more quickly, so try to keep up.

God Brings Clarity To The Stituation.

I know that this may sound crazy… but think about what it said to the shepherds. “You will find a baby wrapped tightly in swaddling cloth.... Do you have any idea on how many babies that could have described? Surely there was more than one baby in Bethlehem that night. But notice what the text says next..... “and laying in a manger...” How many babies were there going to be that matched that description? Only One! God did not want them to miss it. God gave them clarity. He will do the same for you.

God Lowered Himself To A Humble Position.

As God of the universe, He could have been born where He wanted to. He could have been born into any family He wanted to. HE chose the Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How of His birth. All of it was done intentional. He came born into poverty. He came born with nowhere to lay his head. He came born in a stable where animals would eat their dinner.

As the Scriptures remind us… “Though he was Rich....yet for our sake He became poor...” Jesus, the second person of the trinty.... became a man so that He could be merciful to us in our weakness. He did not have to do that. But, as Paul say’s in Philippians 2, he humbled himself because He was not looking at for His own interest.... but the interest of others.

God humbled Himself for our benefit…and we should seek to do the same. That is the implications of that teaching. If God the Son was willing to give up everything to come and save us… then we should be willing to look to benefit others around us.

God Grants Peace To Those Who Believe.

We see this with the Angels message to the Shepherds. With the birth of Jesus, God has provided a Savior. God has promised peace on earth to “People He Favors.” This is not a general peace that God is giving to the world. We know that is not true. Just think about how much destruction and devastation there has been since those words were spoken. God was not talking about a general peace. He was not talking about a world where everyone gets along and sings camp fire songs. No. He is talking about the peace that He gives to humanity through Jesus Christ.

We see this expressed in Romas 5:10-11

10 For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. 11 And not only that, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received this reconciliation.

This is the central problem in Scripture. Humanity had rebelled against God and were His natural enemies. We broken His laws and deserved His wrath. We deserved judgment from God....but with the coming of Christ, God made a way for us to be reconciled back to God. To be reconciled means, by implication, that at one time we were without Him. Before coming to Christ, you were at war with the God of the universe. You were His enemy. But NOW, with the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.. ALL of your sins can be paid for by giving your life to Him.. by repenting of your sins and trusting in Christ to save you. This is the good news of Christmas. This is what God was doing.

Conclusion:

Two more things I want us to see this morning.. and they deal with our reactions to this New… they deal with how we should respond to what God has Done.

Put Your Trust In God

This is what Joseph, Mary, and the Shepherds had done through the coming of Christ. They trusted God at His word. Every single one of them. They trusted the words that were spoken and they lived their lives based on those words.

We should seek to do the same exact thing. We should trust God at His word. We should base our lives on what He has said. Certainly God is trustworthy enough for us to do that. Certiainly this is, at least in part, of what is meant to live by faith. Also, we trust in the Savior that was born for us.

Tell This News To Others.

I always seem to end with this truth on way or another. When the Shepherds heard the message, they went to see what was told to them… and then they shared that message with others. They experienced God in such away that it overflowed to them telling the good news about this Child.

This is what we need to be doing… not just this time of year, but all year long. We live at a time when people need to hear the truth about Christ. WE have spoken about the lostness in our county. This needs to break us and needs to be the driving force behind our lives. We need to make it a priority to get the Gospel to lost people.

I know that this is a huge task. I know that it seems overwhelming… but I believe that we can do it. It is not going to happen over night. It is going to take some thought, planning, and a whole lot of prayer. But, I do believe that we need to set our minds on sharing this good news. We need to share in out of our joy of the Lord. We need to be living so closely with the Lord that these things just overflow from our lips.

This is What Christmas reminds us about. God has done so much… and really we could sit here and talk for hours about these things.

I think that we can sum it all up in one point- Advent- The Arrival of the King

Let us seek to live life submitted to his King, with our eyes and hearts focused on Him.

Let’s pray together.