Advent (2)

Matthew 1:18-25

Scripture

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel”(which means, God with us). 24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

Prayer

Story 1

Talladega Knights: “I like to picture Jesus”

The Jews did this, they were looking for:

A political leader

To free them from the oppression of Rome

Someone to remind them and the world of how great “they are”

We are all often guilty of looking to Jesus as who we want him to be “the magic genie” who trades our good deeds for fulfilled prayer request and blessings

We need to stop this and look to Him for who He is and how He revealed Himself through His word

Not as a means to make us great, but as a reminder of our sinful nature and our hope through Him as our Lord and Savior

1. Jesus Was Conceived By The Spirit To Save Sinners From Their Sin

Verse 18 -20

Matthew tells us this baby was “from the Holy Spirit.” This pregnancy did not result from promiscuousness; the conception was prior to Mary and Joseph coming together. This miraculous act makes him the “Christ”

Christ is not Jesus’ last name, but a title. He is not Jesus Christ like I am Ty Hayes. Instead, like I am Ty, the pastor, He is Jesus, the Christ.

Christ is not a curse word, but the English form of the Greek title, Cristo. It means, One Anointed, the Chosen One, picked for a special purpose. This baby is God’s answer to the world’s most fundamental problems.

Maybe it would help to describe some of the ways his life changes ours. When God makes Jesus the Messiah

The King with the most claim to glory, willing accepts humility so that the humble can be lifted to heaven

He feasted with sinners, so that those hungry for God would not starve in sin

His heart would be broken, so that he could bind the broken-hearted

He was born to die, so that we who are dead in sin might live

He will be condemned, so that the guilty can be declared innocent;

This baby is the Christ, God’s answer to set all things right.

Verse 21

When the angel said, “Name him Jesus,” everyone who knew the Old Testament recognized this as the Greek version of Joshua, “Jehovah saves!”

Others named sons Joshua, to express their hope God would save His people. The angel says, “call His name Jesus because He will save.” This is not Mary’s faith in God’s salvation; this is God, saving His people!

Jesus saves his people in three ways

From the penalty of sin: When Jesus converts someone, He immediately frees them from the penalty. We are no longer condemned. Jesus takes that punishment for His people, giving them, the reward of His obedience.

From the power of sin: those who know Him are able, to both see and desire the happiness of holiness. No longer must our hearts be led astray; we have the ability both to love and to seek that which is good.

From the presence of sin: Those who know God through the work of Jesus actually begin to sin less, not only in outward acts, but by the desires of the heart.

A friend told me she knew when Jesus saved her: when she began to dislike sinning. Isn’t that a good insight?

A heart truly freed hates sin. Jesus frees God’s people completely – from the penalty, the power, and the presence of this great enemy of our soul.

“God is a searching and a saving God, a God on a mission. He is sending, pursuing, searching, saving. That’s the meaning of Christmas.”- John Piper

“He who knew no sin, became sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor 5:21)

Story 2

The story of the family that had 8 kid

2. God Foretold And Fulfilled His Word Through Jesus

Verse 22-23

People often complain, about the narrowness of Christianity. How could one suppose that this is the only way to God? What about all the other devoutly religious people? Are there not many paths to God?

The Biblical answer is not just simply no, but also that his name is Immanuel, God with us.

The big claim of Christianity is not simply that Jesus is the only way to God; it is that Jesus is God making his way down to us.

It is not that you must go through Jesus to find the light of God; it is that Jesus is the light, so all who would see God must look to him.

Jesus is not a ladder we climb to heaven, a ladder which happens to be red. I like red ladders, but you may like green or blue ones. To each his own ladder, and to each his own savior.

All who would come to the Father must come to Him because He and the Father are one. If we were to say that Jesus is not the only way to God, it would be saying, “God is not the only way to God,” He is Immanuel, God with us!

When the promises of God seem powerless to quiet our fears, soothe our grief, or lift our worries, we need more than hearing His promises again. We need to behold the God who gives them.

My favorite Christmas song isn’t even a Christmas song: “Turn your eyes upon Jesus look full into His wonderful face and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace”

Verse 24-25

People attend church for many reasons. Some seek nostalgia, or the warm feeling of religious comfort, or connection with family. These reasons are not bad persae, but they are not the reason Jesus was born.

Jesus was born because we need forgiveness; we need freedom from passions which enslave us to selfishness.

We need to be saved from thinking that the greatness of God is defined by how much he makes of me, instead realize true freedom is making much of Him. The first step in that great change is accepting our need of Him.

Calvin Miller wrote a article entitled, “Rethinking Suburban Evangelism,” on the challenge of taking the gospel to people who sense no need:

“Suburbia: the push-button Zion of those who have made it and therefore have it made. There, amid the water sprinkling systems and lava rock landscapes, rises the new Eden with little need for God: Paradise Found, where churches ulcerate themselves trying to sell self-denial to the pampered.”

Reminding me of what Jesus says in Revelation 3:17-18: “For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.”

Do we know that we are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind and naked, until God, born as a baby in Bethlehem, comes and saves our lives?

The meaning of christmas is that what is good and precious in your life need never be lost, and what is evil and undesirable in your life can be changed.

Conclusion

Charlie Brown Christmas

Luke 2:8-14

8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

Question

Do you seek Christ as the perfect gift?

Prayer