Are You Going?

The Invitation

Men and women handle party invitations from 2 completely different viewpoints. For the man it is an appointment that disrupts his opportunity to relax at home, take off the work clothes, and disappear from formalities.

For the woman it’s an opportunity to mentally review all the outfits that she has in the closet and come to the realization that she has nothing to wear. If she does, she certainly has no shoes that are appropriate for the party.

The man has spent no time considering the etiquette of what to bring to the party. The wife has obsessed over it. There have been mental gymnastics that have taken place and moments when the task has completely exhausted her. The husband has little idea that any of this is taking place. He has only noted that an evening has been taken.

If the wife’s stress and the husband’s lack of interest align, they may both simply choose not to attend.

A Remarkable Invitation

There is certainly a long list of things that I’ve missed because I chose not to attend. There are probably some really great experiences that I’ve missed because of it. Invitations require attendance to enjoy the fun that a party offers.

I’ve been thinking about the invitations that were offered to the shepherds and the wise men from the East. It would have been easier for them to have just past it off but instead they chose to respond to the invitation. I’d like to take a little bit of time this morning to consider these invitations and their responses.

These invitations are not even together in one Gospel. Luke records the invitation of the shepherds and Matthew records the invitation of the wise men.

An Angel Invites the Shepherds

Luke had an eye for the common, or even the outcast people of Jesus’ day. Luke presents the shepherds in the fields nearby Bethlehem. The invitation of the shepherds was usual because “for the most part, shepherds were written off by the Jewish religious establishment for their failure to keep the Sabbath and all the minute regulations imposed by the ruling” religious elites.

Luke 2:8–15 NIV

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

What is it that motivated the shepherds to go see the child? Certainly, the appearance of the angel of the Lord made an impact. The message of the angels left the shepherds with a lot of questions. But what gets these country folk to decide that they want to go into a crowded, nasty city?

As a writer, Luke was an advocate of the poor, the disadvantaged, and the sick. They didn’t fit well into the city scene. According to Trites and Larkin, shepherds were marginalized and criticized by the Jews who observed the Jewish rules more carefully.

But…they went to “see this thing that has happened”

A Star Invites the Magi

While Luke recorded the invitation of the humble shepherds, Matthew provides an invitation to the types of men that would have access to the King.

Matthew 2:1–2 NIV

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

Who sees a star and drops everything to follow? What were their lives like? What were their motives?

Some suggest that these men from the East had been awaiting the fulfillment of the 70 “weeks” prophecy of Daniel. The star was a great messenger. It offered both direction and illumination. It demanded worship.

The magi could have stayed in their comforts and palaces, but they chose to go at the invitation of a new star that had risen.

The Benefits of the Invitation

Both the shepherds and the magi said “yes” to the invitation. Jesus is the life of the party but a person will never know Him unless he responds to the invitation. One preacher explains it like this:

[Salvation] is the gift of God. So is the air, but you have to breathe it. So is bread, but you have to eat it. So is water, but you have to drink it. So how do we accept this gift? Not by a feeling, for “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Rom. 10:17). It is not for me to sit down and wait for faith to come upon me with a strong feeling of some kind. Rather, [salvation] comes when we take God at his word.

It is when we accept the invitation. There is so much that is made available when we accept the invitation! I want to point out just a couple things.

Access to Revelation

Something ‘has happened’, indeed, but it is also something ‘which the Lord has made known’; not simply an event, but an event plus a revelation. The event is from one point of view the greatest that ever took place, and the turning-point of history. But it would have no meaning for us unless God revealed that meaning. That is where the angel comes in, for he is (as the word ‘angel’ implies) the messenger of God. The news which is spread by the shepherds, and which Mary keeps in her heart, is ‘the saying which had been told them concerning this child’ (2:17). It is the divine message which the angel brings concerning Jesus.

Jesus would ask Peter in Mark 8 who Peter understood his leader to be. Peter could have accepted Jesus as a friend, a good teacher, or a prophet like Isaiah. But Peter had learned that Jesus was more than that. He identified Him as the Messiah, the Son of God.

That is the special thing about Revelation and for those who go to the birth of Christ with revelation, it is a very special advantage.

Access to Priceless Gifts

The Gift of Peace

Let’s get a little more practical. In our celebrations of advent this year, Kristen Vorster, Will Lester, Tanya Jo Shipley, and Jason Bell have pointed out the value of hope, love, joy, and peace. Since we just heard Jason’s devotional, let’s look again at the promise of Christ in the passage that has meant so much to him and his family…

Philippians 4:6–7 NIV

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

When you have anxiety, anger, and frustration it seems that there is no way that peace will ever be found. But it can be found, even in the middle of the storms of life. We simply need to respond to the invitation to see Jesus.

The Gift of Hope

Romans 15:13 NIV

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

One night at dinner a man, who had spent many summers in Maine, fascinated his companions by telling of his experiences in a little town named Flagstaff. The town was to be flooded, as part of a large lake for which a dam was being built. In the months before it was to be flooded, all improvements and repairs in the whole town were stopped. Why repair anything when the whole village was to be wiped out? So, week by week, the whole town became more and more bedraggled, more gone to seed, more woebegone. Then he added by way of explanation: “Where there is no hope in the future, there is no power in the present.” (Halford E. Luccock, Unfinished Business).

Hope is vitally important. Where there is no hope for the future, there is no power in the present. Do you want power in your life? Respond to the invitation to see Jesus.

The Gift of Love

1 John 4:7–10 NIV

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Love is inspired at the stable. Couple this with revelation – this is no ordinary child. Mary is still a virgin. Angels and stars don’t appear for just any baby. They validated Jesus – the evidence of God’s love for mankind. God became human. God demonstrated His sacrificial love. As we stand by the manger, we know that the cradle means the cross.

The Gift of Joy

Joy is also a product of revelation. It is the fruit of understanding God’s purpose and plans through Christ and the benefits we receive as a result. Isaac Watts spoke of this joy in his famous song, Joy to the World.

1. Joy to the world, the Lord is come!

Let earth receive her King;

let every heart prepare him room,

and heaven and nature sing, (2x)

and heaven, and heaven, and nature sing.

2. Joy to the world, the Savior reigns!

Let all their songs employ;

while fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains

repeat the sounding joy, (2x)

repeat, repeat the sounding joy.

3. No more let sins and sorrows grow,

nor thorns infest the ground;

he comes to make his blessings flow

far as the curse is found, (2x)

far as, far as the curse is found.

4. He rules the world with truth and grace,

and makes the nations prove

the glories of his righteousness,

and wonders of his love, (2x)

and wonders, wonders of his love.

When we respond to the invitation to the manger, we find so many benefits – these and so many more. But you have to accept the invitation!

Are You Going?

Christmas is a huge invitation to meet Jesus. Unfortunately, it is often overlooked behind the traditions and entertainments of a holiday. Although the Gospel of John doesn’t provide the story of the birth of Jesus like Luke and Matthew do, he does capture the powerful meaning.

John 1:1–5 NIV

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

John 1:9–14 NIV

The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

I encourage you this morning to accept the invitation and look at Christ. Worship Him. Make Him the Lord of your life. Experience the benefits of the Christian party!