The Gift of the good news

Introdution

Week 1 of our Advent series Chris preaching from Genesis 6:5-8 where he talked about our need for a savior.

He reminded us of how totally depraved we are. Apart from a savior we are wicked, children of wrath and this started in the garden when Adam and Eve sinned.

Then last week Chris preached from Isaiah 7 and Isaiah 8 walking us through the promise that is seen in scripture. We are promised a future hope, a future King, a future comforter, a future savior that would mend the broken relationship between man and God who is holy.

Today we celebrate God keeping his promise in which he puts on flesh comes down from his heavenly thorn. This weekend we celebrate that reality that our savior Christ was born.

Church Father Athanasius said “He became what we are that He might make us what He is”. See that's the promise

Read Luke 2:8–14 “And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 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. 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. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!””

1.) Celebrate Emanuel. (vs.8-11)

These shepherd men heard the gospel at the birth of Jesus. The angel said to them “Fear not for behold, I bring you good news, a savior who is Christ the Lord”.

The word used in this passage in Greek for good news is the same Greek word where we get the word gospel from its the word “euangelion”.

The arrival of our savior and King the gospel is first proclaimed by an angel and that very gospel message is not only the message that we have now been entrusted with to share unto the ends of the earn so that someone might be saved but it is also the bedrock of our faith that we run to daily resting in its truth and promise.

This was ground breaking the first century Jews. This was an awe struck announcement because these shepherds knew what the old testament prophesied.

This was a proclaiming to there ears of the promised hope and they were in awe and even fearful according to verse 10 they knew who they were at the core they knew there desperate need of a savior and the peace that they needed between them and God they knew it.

Even the pagans of the first century world sensed this need for peace and a savior. Epictetus, a first century pagan writer, expressed this: “While the emperor may give peace from war on land and sea, he is unable to give peace from passion, grief, and envy; he cannot give peace of heart, for which man yearns for more than even outward peace.”

This small baby wrapped up in a nasty smelly manger is the hope of the world and these shepherds are the first to set eyes on the promised savior that would soon crush the head of the serpent as promised in Genesis 3:15 “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”” which is what theologians call The Proto-Evangelium which simply means the first gospel. This is who this baby is.

“Here’s a side to the Christmas story that isn’t often told: Those soft little hands, fashioned by the Holy Spirit in Mary’s womb, were made so that nails might be driven through them. Those baby feet, pink and unable to walk, would one day walk up a dusty hill to be nailed to a cross. That sweet infant’s head with sparkling eyes and eager mouth was formed so that someday men might force a crown of thorns onto it. That tender body, warm and soft, wrapped in swaddling clothes, would one day be ripped open by a spear. Jesus was born to die.”-John MacArthur

This is why we celebrate Christmas its about Christ whom is the greatest gift ever received and we ought to treasure him.

This time of the year is a great time to check our hearts and ask ourselves do we treasure the gift of knowing Jesus?

Or better yet do we even see Jesus as the the gift to be treasured? When we understand the biblcal meaning of Christmas we see that it is much more that lights, hallmark cards, hot chocolate, ugly sweaters, all things which I love and enjoy. We can partake in all those things no problem but we must keep the main thing the main thing.

See to the world it may not make sense to why we celebrate why is this such a big deal to christians is what the world ask.

“Non-Christians seem to think that the Incarnation implies some particular merit or excellence in humanity. But of course it implies just the reverse: a particular demerit and depravity. No creature that deserved Redemption would need to be redeemed. They that are whole need not the physician. Christ died for men precisely because men are not worth dying for; to make them worth it.”-C.S. Lewis

In Christ you are worth it Celebrate it.

Christian remember that you are a trophy of Gods grace and you have a savior that was born to die to asborb the wrath of God on your behalf. Not only is this baby who is our savior born to absorb the wrath of God on our behalf but he lives a perfect like and justifies us. So know in Christ God sees us not only as if we never sinned but also as if we always obeyed and this is only afford to those that are in Christ.

This is worthy of celebration family.

“The Almighty appeared on earth as a helpless human baby, needing to be fed and changed and taught to talk like any other child. The more you think about it, the more staggering it gets. Nothing in fiction is so fantastic as this truth of the Incarnation.”-J.I. Packer

“In light of the profound reality of Jesus’ full and uncompromised deity, His incarnation was the most profound possible humiliation. For Him to change in any way or to any degree, even temporarily by the divine decree of His Father, required descent. By definition, to forsake perfection requires taking on some form of imperfection. Yet without forsaking or in any way diminishing His perfect deity or His absolute holiness, in a way that is far beyond human comprehension, the Creator took on the form of the created. The Infinite became finite, the Sinless took sin upon Himself. The very heart of the gospel of redemption is that the Father “made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21). Although that infinitely marvelous and cardinal gospel truth is impossible to understand it is necessary to believe. “-John MacArthur

2.) God kept his promise.(vs.12-14)

Isaiah 7:14 “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

This Scripture points to the manner in which he will born, and also to one of the names given to Christ: Immanuel, meaning God with us. This was pointing to both his human birth and his divine nature. This was written over 700 years before Christ was born.

Micah 5:2 “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.”

We know Jesus was born in Bethlehem and this Scripture tells us in advance the place Jesus would be born. This prophecy was written by Micah approximately 800 years before Christ was born.