Hope - What about Miracles and the Virgin Birth?
Believable Hope • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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I want to invite Mike Smith forward—and since no one knows who that is—he also goes by Radar Smith.
I appreciate Radar being here.
to share about a new ministry coming up that he is helping start…and to do that we need to talk about your story...
1. Most probably know that it has been a difficult year for you, but for those who don't, tell us what happened this year.
2. Please be honest and real--how have you responded through this and how do you have hope through this time (since we are in a sermon series on hope)?
(we need 1 Corinthians 10:13)
13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
(applies to jail ministry, and personal life)
3. Tell us about a new ministry you are helping begin (we will have a pic of the FTroop photo on screen as well)
Gather on the floor to pray; invite people forward.
The goal is to take approximately 10 minutes.
elder praying?
I appreciate Radar sharing...
We are in a series about hope...
hope...
If I were to ask you how “hopeful” do you feel about life…what would you say? Or think of people in your life—a family member or friend—how hopeful do they feel? what would you say?
usually, when you and I talk about hope—it is very uncertain.
“I hope this will happen…I hope
but christian hope is based on a rock solid certainty--
1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
Christian hope is certain—it is a rock solid confidence that Jesus is who He says He is, that He did what He came to do, that He accomplished our salvation on the cross and resurrection, and He is coming again.
It is a firm confidence that God will do what He says He will do.
we looked at a couple of reasons we have firm hope--
—because Jesus was a real person
—because we can trust God’s Word...
this is from Rebecca McGlaughlin’s book—Is Christmas Unbelievable...
I want to talk about one of the most assumed, misunderstood, and maybe strange aspects of the Christmas story and yet how important it is—and that is the doctrine of the Virgin Birth.
I believe this helps us as we think about hope, about Radar’s story, about any of our stories as we look to have hope this Christmas.
look at this…the Christmas story in God’s Word teaches this...
18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.
20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
that’s actually from Isaiah 7:14
14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
and then if we go over to Luke…this is the Angel Gabriel talking to Mary...
31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.
32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,
33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.
this doctrine of the virgin birth—or better yet—virgin conception is something that the church has affirmed and believed since the beginning—and we have labeled it even as important.
let me give you a reason of the head why this happened....
and a reason of the heart…why it matters...
think about a reason of the head...
why do we believe this actually happened?
I won’t spend my time here…but this is getting at the whole category of miracles. how do we know a virgin birth happened, (and how do we know even the story of the star that led the wise men happened?) How do we allow for these categories?
Rebecca McLaughlin actually talks about this.
she says if the virgin birth and miracles sound unbelievable—it also sounded unbelievable for Joseph and Mary—they questioned this too—they were confused. “How can this be?” Mary said. sometimes we think that those people back then 2000 years ago believed this kind of stuff—easier but it was hard for them too. if you have ever struggled to trust the Biblical stories or believe in these supernatural displays of power—it’s hard for them too!
another reason of the head as to we think why do we believe these miraculous stories about Jesus—is go back to Genesis 1:1-2
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
she says—if this is true—that God created the universe out of nothing. He simply spoke it into existence, then it is not crazy to believe that a virgin birth can take place, or a star can lead these pagan non-believers to Jesus to worship Him.
and people may say—well, “Prove it scientifically that miracles are true!” but science is based on repeatable, observable experiments and phenomenon. miracles by definition are in a different category—science isn’t designed to measure miracles in the way we use science.
she goes on to say that there are actually many world class scientists today who believe in miracles and the God of our Christian Bible—all of this is reasons of the head for the Christmas miraculous stories.
but let’s look at the heart—reasons of the heart—why does the Virgin Birth Matter
The Virgin Birth Matters because it means that Jesus can be our mediator (fully between a holy God and sinful man.)
21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
“...saving his people from their sins”…
the message of the Bible is good news—but before there is good news—there is bad news. and the bad news is that we are in a desperate situation.
That though God made us to know him and enjoy him, we have turned our backs on him, and tried to run live our way. and the Bible calls this sin.
and b/c of that sin—the Bible says God owes us perfect justice for our sins. God would be right to punish us as a good and holy judge—that’s what good judges do—give fair justice. the Bible says we deserve death—the wages of sin is death—both physically and spiritually forever separated from God.
but the good news is that God sent His Son born of a woman—born of the Virgin Mary to defeat sin through his life, death on the cross, and resurrection.
and you may say well how does the Virgin Birth help with that—b/c the cross and resurrection—we emphasize all the time.
but the Virgin Birth?
one of the things we don’t like to think about but the bible is clear—is that we are sinners—by choice but also by nature.
in other words—we choose to sin.
but even at birth—even at conception—we are sinners by nature. we inherit it!
look at this:
Psalm 51:4–5 (NIV)
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. (sinners by choice)
5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. (sinners by nature)
the act of conception is not sinful—but King David who wrote this is saying we inherit a sinful nature from Adam—passed down from generation to generation.
we are sinners by choice and by nature.
we need to someone to save us from ourselves and our sin—b/c we can’t!
we need someone who is not a sinner by choice and not a sinner by nature to truly save us—none of us qualify...
but God has one who qualifies—and that’s His Jesus...
b/c of the virgin birth—because Jesus was supernaturally conceived by the Holy Spirit, He is not a sinner by nature. He is not a sinner from conception. He is not a sinner by birth.
He is perfect, without sin.
and he is also not a sinner by choice--
this means that He can serve as our mediator—our go-between—between a holy God and sinful humanity. He represents us—being 100% human—and He represents God—100% God.
this means that his life and death on the cross and resurrection…actually accomplished what He set out to accomplished.
this means that when we trust in Jesus to save us from sin and for Him—we can be forgiven!
this means that b/c sin is defeated--death truly can be defeated
this means that Radar has complete confidence that He will see Gloria again in Christ
this means the same for us.
this is the hope—this rock-solid certainty—the Virgin Birth enables Jesus to not be a sinner by nature—
now, some people don’t like the fact of being sinners by nature—b/c it doesn’t seem fair that I have to suffer because of what Adam and Eve did a long time ago as my representatives in the Garden of Eden (we have a hard time with this b/c we are so individualistic)—but the good news is that just a representative plunged us into sin—a new representative lifts us out of sin—Jesus if we respond to Him.
21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.
22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.
2. The Virgin Birth Matters because it is the Son of God taking on flesh to dwell with us.
23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
Immanuel—God with us.
In the Virgin Birth—we are getting at the wonderful doctrine of the Incarnation.
The Incarnation is the wonderful amazing idea that the eternal Son of God added humanity to his already existing divinity (without ceasing to be God). In other words, he humble limited himself by taking on flesh, but never ceasing to be divine.
and he took on flesh—moving into our zip code on earth. walking among us, experiencing what we experience, being our representative, and dying for us.
I was thinking about this concept of moving into our neighborhood…and dwelling....and how much of a difference that makes...
if you want to get to know someone in our church...—what do you do. you talk with them in the hallways, the coffee area, maybe you join the same SS class or small group.
if you want to get to know them better--You hang out outside of church. you go eat together, get coffee together, do a hobby like golfing together. and the more time you spend with them, you get to know them.
if you really want to get to know someone better, go on a missions trip together—go to Maytown Kentucky…because you end up living together for several days, you ride in a van together. dwelling together increases your intimacy big time.
and if you really really want to get to know someone—you live with them for a long time. (that’s what Jesus did—He dwelt with us to show that He wants us to know Him and be connected to Him)
when I think about dwelling together—this is why for me some of the best forms and most intense forms of community were living in a college dorm with men…when I had the chance to live with guys, that’s when the most life change happen because you are sharing life together...
I think the same of our missionaries—a good missionary moves to another place and culture and dwells with the new people group, learning the language and their culture—until they start dreaming in Spanish or French or Arabic or Mandarin. they don’t impact from a distance, they sacrifice much to go and be and dwell—and it can be challenging and exhausting...
you dwell as a missionary b/c you care...
I have had the privilege of visiting Haiti—and when I have gone staying with a Haitian family in their concrete block walled house and dirt floor…and when I am there, I can tell it’s a different culture than how we live. no indoor plumbing, the electricity comes and goes, cockroaches scurrying across the floor..but I always came back home to my creature comforts…it’s hard for me to downgrade living in another culture without the comforts I am used to...
even now—the home we own now has a 2 car garage…for the longest time I had to park my car outside in the winter—scraping it every morning…poor me…life is rough…I can’t imagine now not having a 2 car garage.
well, Jesus Christ moved the farthest distance to live with us. He moved from heaven to earth. and he didn’t just come for a couple of years—but for approximately 33 years, living, experiencing. He left the comforts of heaven....he did not live a life of luxury or fame…but died homeless, naked, bleeding on the cross for our sins. he spent time with 12 men who constantly frustrated him—(I know how frustrated I got at times living in a freshman door serving as a Resident Assistant)
The Virgin Birth insured that Jesus Christ truly took on flesh—identifying with us...
so that we have a Savior who truly conquered sin and who gets us.
a Savior who knows what suffering and sorrow is like, yet never sinned.
a Savior who came and died for us, his enemies on the cross, when we didn’t deserve it.
this gives us hope—that we can dwell with God now and forever...
this gives Radar hope that he will see his loved one Gloria someday with God forever
and it gives us hope....that the best is yet to come b/c of Jesus Christ…who wants to know you now and for eternity
let’s pray...
Blue Christmas
Christmas Eve schedule
—activity books…
—a time of sharing in the morning worship service...