Faith in God who came to save us.

Introduction

Today we enter the last installment of our annual Advent/Christmas sermon series, retelling, remembering, and looking at the events that led up to Jesus Christ’s birth. Just to give you a quick look of where we will be going in soon, next week my good friend Josh Underwood will be coming and bringing The Word to us. Then, after that, at the first Sunday of the New Year, we will re-enter our sermon series through the book of acts. So, please between now and then, in your personal devotion time, re-read Acts chapters 1-10, as we will pick up where we left off, starting in chapter 11.

As we continue our sermon series, I want to remind you about something very important regarding Christmas. Yes, as the old and true saying goes, “Christmas is all about (or at least should be all about) Jesus,” but also we have to be careful to realize that this is not the end of the message, the end of the story, the end and the most important part come and gone. What I mean by that is to remember that Jesus’ birth isn’t just about a tiny baby. It’s about the King of Everything coming to earth and dwelling with us for a time, beginning his earthly life in the flesh, a life that marches towards a needed and necessary sacrificial death on the cross, God’s love for us on display for all of mankind to see. So, as you remember the baby Jesus, don’t forget the Lordship of Jesus and His eternal sacrifice, just like the song we just sang together declared, He was born to set His people (believers) free and deliver them.

Scripture

Father God, we thank You for Who You are. A great Big God who sees each and every one of us here and cares deeply about us. We ask this day, as we are continuing in this time of worship to You, reading Your Word and hearing Your Word, that You refine us with it. Mold us, make us, shape us, rearrange us so that we can more like You, and more made into the image of Christ. Help us be a people who love You and love others so much, that we are moved into action by whatever it is You are going to show us about Yourself today and what that means in our lives. Help us do this, because all to often our selfish and sinless flesh war against our will to follow Yours. As we are doing this, and as we are coming into Your Word today, we ask that You take away any distraction that we may have, and make it go as far away as it possible can, because we want to see and we want to know You better. It’s in these things that I ask and in Jesus Christ’s Holy and precious name that I pray, Amen.

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.

Context

Today we turn our attention to a different point of view leading up to the event of Jesus birth than the one we had last week. That is, last week we looked at Luke’s account of the birth of Jesus, and this was primarily from Jesus’ mother, Mary’s point of view. Today, we look at the other person that was always their, Jesus’ earthly father, Joseph, and hear more about his part in it all.

As I’ve shared with you before, I want you to take in the seriousness and realness of the situation Mary and Joseph found themselves in. Just for starters, in this time era, Betrothal (or being engaged) as Mary and Joseph were, was a very serious matter. So serious, that for all intents and purposes; they were already legally and socially considered married, except they were not allowed to live together yet or as the bible says, “know” one another. In fact, they would have already of referred to each other as husband and wife. This betrothal period usually lasted a years time, and the only way to end it was unfaithfulness or death. So, separation or ending the relationship would have been a divorce in and of itself with all the difficulties that came along with it.

As we all know, being pregnant with child is something that can only be kept under wraps for a few weeks; before everyone finds out. So, as we can tell from the text; Joseph figured this out after a time, and to him who had not had the fulness of the story told to him yet, he began to notice Mary’s pregnancy and that could have only meant one thing…. Unfaithfulness. However, Joseph would soon learn more about the child that Mary was carrying, and soon came to understand that this situation, much like most difficult situation in our own lives; requires a new and deeper faith in God, who He is and what He can do. So, let’s dive in to this account of the story and today From the text, I want you to see and know these facts of Jesus as you put your faith in Him, Faith in God who came to save us.

Message

The Birth of Jesus (18-19)

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.

Our passage begins, making it very clear that this is an account of the events that led to Jesus Christ’s birth. One important thing to know and to point out, that the name “Christ” itself is not a “last name” or surname as we have today, rather it is a title; Christ meaning the messiah or anointed one. So from this very text, we see a proclamation about who this child is, the Christ….. Moving on, we get into the narrative; that while Mary and Joseph were betrothed to be married, Joseph discovered his wife’s pregnancy, which as far as he knew at the time; was an indicator that Mary had been unfaithful to him (which we know she was faithful, but as far as he can observe she was not). Now, himself was a just and caring man. Meaning that he is what we would call a “good guy.” He followed the rules, had a steady trade, was a committed and steady man, and importantly followed the Jewish religious customs as best he could, meaning it was right and proper for him to divorce Mary in the circumstance as he could see it. Now, this could have meant a life of harsh treatment and social and societal shame for Mary if he made a big deal about it, but it’s clear that Joseph cared about Mary a lot; and did not want her to live a life of shame. So, he decided to go about the divorce quietly.

Many unexpected and seemingly unlikely things, scratch that, impossible things happened at the birth of Jesus. From last week’s text, we know that Mary was a virgin, meaning it was impossible for her to have a child. We know the unlikeliness that Mary and Joseph, living in Nazareth would give birth to their son (Jesus) in Bethlehem as the prophets said He would be (think about it, travel was hard back then and she was pregnant and the road from Nazareth to Bethlehem was an uphill and dangerous hike of 70 miles). Yet, they would because of Ceaser Augustus’ census of the land. All of this, let alone that all the things Mary had seen from an angel (an in our coming verses for Joseph too) would come true. By regular human means, these events and processes would not only be extremely unlikely, but impossible in and of themselves; unless….. Unless God was involved and present here. Unless. Unless this really was an is the messiah, God the Son coming to redeem at last.

Believer and skeptic alike, know this. That is exactly what this birth was and is all about. This birth, was about Messiah coming. In and of itself, The Birth of Jesus also proved another thing;

The Divinity of Jesus (20-23)

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).

One day, while Joseph was thinking about what needed to be done to quietly divorce Mary, he fell asleep and an angel, a messenger from God, came to him in a dream. In the next chapter of the Bible, we would observe this strange phenomenon a few more times, angel’s giving warning in dreams, with it even happening to Joseph 3 times and once to the wisemen. Each of these dreams warned and showed Joseph critical and important commands for him to do for his family, some of which ensured that the child’s life would be saved; so these were very important and critical for Joseph to follow, and he will learn this from this first dream. In this first one, he is told to not divorce Mary, because the child she is having is not because of infidelity (as he would have supposed) but from God Himself, a gift from God through the Holy Spirit. The angel informs Joseph that this child’s name will be Jesus, which roughly translates from it’s Hebrew word yashua to “God is deliverance” because this child will save the people from their sins. The angel then reminds Joseph of a promise of God to the people that was spoken by the Prophet Isiah, which we see in Isiah 7:14 that, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall be called Immanuel. Immanuel meaning, God with us.

That’s exactly what this child is and was, God, God the Son. Jesus, God with us. In these statements from the angel, we see on full display that Joseph had the deity or divinity (the Godhood) of Jesus revealed. He knew that this child was from God, and as Mary had signs given to her from proof, so also Joseph is having the true nature and reality of this child reveled to Him, even by quotes and promises in scripture. And so, we get to benefit from these same signs and truths today.

So often, we put our faith in the wrong things. We all do it, every one of us, myself included. It’s so easy, in fact it’s the very nature of the flesh and blood that you have; to try to put your faith in those things that are undeserving and doomed to fail you. Now, we all know that our faith and our trust is to be put in God, who is divine, who is Holy, meaning He is perfect and unable to let you down. Here is a truth about God that we all need to hear and understand, He always gives us not what we want but what is best for us. Often, these things are not the same but very different; what we want is not what is best or good for us. When we put our faith in these false cures and solutions, and they can be many many things like: drugs and addiction, holding onto hate or anger, over venerating family and friends, finding your ultimate fulfillment in who you are as a homekeeper or in your work or even or your good deeds or acts of charity and I could go on and on forever then you have created what we call an idol; or a false God. Something that you worship and count as more valuable the divine and perfect Jesus. On their own and in their proper place, these are good things, in fact they are gifts from God. I want to be clear here, I have never met a person that at some point (or more likely many points) did not have this right. and I and you never will. Every believer, every person has a personal responsibility to discover where you have gotten the “pecking order” so to say, wrong and realign it with God first and all things behind Him in importance. So, instead of putting your faith in those things that will ultimately disappoint you, see in this scripture passage the truth of the divine Jesus, and put your faith in that God who came to save us, who came to save you.

The next fact I want you to see and know is: The Miracle of Jesus (24-25)

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.

Joseph woke up, and what did he do. Well, just like he was supposed to do. As the passage said, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him. So, he took Mary as his wife and the child as his son; and named him Jesus. Something to know about this, you kind of have to read between the lines, is that in the culture of this time; the father often chose the name of the child and thus it was also an act of ownership (and you might say for Joseph adoption in a sense) of a child, of this Jesus; of God’s mission for his life, to see the miraculous child through life as his earthly father. Joseph now knew and understood, everything about this child, was a miracle, a precious gift from God. Time and time again in his very coming to earth we saw it, miracle after miracle.

This miracle, isn’t a cheapened miracle (like snake oil) or something that is remarkable or unlikely. That’s not what a miracle is, miracles are not remarkable or unlikely events; they are something so much more. Let me give you an example of something that was called a miracle, but was not; it was remarkable; yes. But to be a miracle means that the act or event was outside the bounds and normal order of nature; meaning miracles are something that God does supernaturally. You see, 95 years ago; the medical world was up on in fiery excitement over what they were calling a, “miracle drug or cure.” This was from the research of a Dr. Alexander Fleming, who we know to be the discoverer of the anti-biotic that is widely used now known as penicillin; a mold spore that was able to prevent growth and eliminate harmful germs and infections. While this discovery was remarkable and useful for all of mankind and will be a critical discovery for medical science for the rest of our history; it isn’t a miracle. What happened with the mold spores, with the penicillin was totally within the normal and functional order of nature, the observable workings of nature within our world.

When we look at this narrative of Jesus’ birth, the Christ coming to earth, we see many miracles. First of all, we saw the impossible births of two children. One to an old woman who had been barren her whole life (Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist) and Jesus, who’s mother Mary was a virgin. These are two miracles because they are outside of explanation from our normal natural operating; and are from God. Even greater yet, is that it is from God that God Himself would come down from His throne on high and come and live with lowly us, with wicked mankind. Even greater for us still, is the miracle that despite our own sin that separates us from God, the curse that all of mankind is born with, that you were born with; miraculously and supernaturally God provided the sacrifice, paid the cost, to atone for our sin at the cross, so that our sinful separation from God can be brought to an end for all of those that turn to God; that turn to Jesus as their Lord and savior. This is the miracle of Jesus, this is the miracle of Christmas.

Conclusion

Beloved, share what you have learned this week and the previous week’s with your family. Let me tell you something that you have probably noticed over the years, that a great many Americans celebrate the holiday Christmas as they know how, but they don’t celebrate (or even know about Jesus). Recently, a survey was taken that found that nearly 9 out of 10 Americans say that they celebrate Christmas. This includes of course Christians yes are celebrating Christmas, but get this; so do 82% of people who are religiously unaffiliated and 74% of those who celebrate non-Christian faiths such as: Muslims, Buddhists, and Jewish people do as well. Meanwhile, only about 61% of Americans today claim to be Christians. What does this mean? That a great many people, are celebrating Christmas, but it has nothing to do with Jesus for them. So, just because someone is celebrating Christmas, you can by no means assume that they are Christians, and by no means assume they have heard or known the story of the first Christmas from someone else, their family, and unfortunately even for some of them from what they call their church.

So, beloved in the room today, I want to challenge you, as you leave here and go and celebrate this holiday with your family and loved ones. Remember to do something very important. Share with your family the reason we are celebrating or make sure that someone in the family is. If no one is, then do it yourself, Bring your bible with you to your family gathering, and read this scripture passage and/or Luke 2 and share it with them. Be sure to highlight our points today, the birth of Jesus, the divinity of Jesus, and the miracle of Jesus; because this is critical, important, and loving information to share with all and share with them what it means to have faith in God who came to save us.

With all of that being said, I would be remised if I didn’t share the Gospel (or the Good News) of Jesus Christ with you today, for the benefit of both believer and non-believer in the room. This begins all the way back at the beginning, God created everything, and he created all things good. He gave His most treasured creation (us, mankind) the ability of free will, the ability to choose Him or rebellion. Man was deceived by Satan and desired to be like God and sinned (or rebelled against God). This brought the curse of sin and death into the world and it remains with us to this day; which separates us from God. God though, loved His creation (mankind) so much that He worked through history to redeem all mankind that would turn to Him from sin so that we can experience a full and perfect relationship with Him again. This was through the perfect and final sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the pay for sins. Accepting this free gift from God, makes you new and forgiven. All you have to do accept this free gift by repenting and believing in the Lord Jesus and you will get to experience the good side of God’s justice forever. So, now that you know this, you can no longer plead ignorance. I invite and urge you to respond today non-believer and apply this to every part of your life believers in the audience today.

With that, Let’s conclude. Brothers and Sisters, I love you all. During our last song together, if you need prayer, or want to talk more about Jesus, or have something you want to talk about, I’ll be here, don’t be afraid to come on down. Let’s pray. Father God, we thank You for who You are and what You are doing to us here in this place. May whatever it is that You are doing in each of heart here, continue as we leave go out into the world this week. Change us, mold us, make us, re-arrange us, that we can be both better lovers of You and better showers of You. It’s in these things that I ask and in Jesus Christ’s Holy and precious name that I pray, Amen.