Jesus is for Everyone!

Christmas is for Everyone  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  57:15
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Every good story has a beginning.
The Christmas story is a good story.
I love how John begins His gospel!
John 1:1 NIV
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
So, John starts with the same 3 words that Moses did in Genesis...
In. The. Beginning.
John goes way back to the beginning! He knows that the beginning of Christ is not with John the baptist, Joseph, Mary, Zechariah, Elizabeth, but with God, in the beginning.
Before all of creation, there was Jesus.
John 1:14 NIV
14 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.
In the Beginning was Jesus. And Jesus was with God. And Jesus was God.
And Jesus became flesh and made his dwelling among us. And we, have seen His glory! Amen!
This is the Christmas Story.
Matthew 1:23 NIV
23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
What the angel is sharing with Joseph here is actually the fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah 7.
Isaiah 7:14 NIV
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.
From the time of Isaiah to the birth of Jesus was about 700 years.
700 years of waiting with anticipation for the coming of Christ.
Immanuel has finally come!
Advent for the jews was a time of waiting. A time of despair. A time of hope. And a time of longing.
A time of longing for God to do what He has promised to do!
To take His people out of despair.
To restore His Kingdom!
For us, Advent is a time of celebration.
A time to give thanks to God for doing what He said that He was going to do.
The messiah, the savior, the Christ has been born!
For to us, a child has been born. To us, a Son has been given. And the government is on His shoulders.
He is called the wonderful counselor, the mighty God, the Everlasting Father, and the prince of peace.
He is Emmanuel, God with us.
Jesus came, and entered into flesh, so that we may have a personal relationship with Him.
Brant Hansen wrote this piece several years ago.
I have read it a couple of times, but I find it profound.
Brant Hansen “A Very Messy Christmas: He Still Wants Us!”
Turns out, you can’t change a baby’s diaper from ten feet away.
I tried.
I was a new dad, had never changed a diaper in my life, and had a serious gag reflex. I loved our little boy, but… that’s disgusting. I didn’t want to see the dirty diaper or smell it or touch it. Gross.
It would have been easy to steer clear of the whole process, save for one thing: I loved my little boy. And so I had to get down on his level, refuse to be repulsed, and deal with the problem.
Not because I loved the mess, but because I loved him.
I hated doing diapers, but I knew what it “said” to my boy: You’re soiled. Sure. That happens.
But your daddy still loves you.
Turns out, that’s what it means to be a servant. In a culture based on upward mobility, it means deliberately moving downward.
And in a culture based on taking offense, it means deliberately refusing to be offended. It means entering into the mess of life, and saying, “It’s worth it, because I love you.”
2,000 years ago, we Christians believe, our Creator entered into our brutal history as a man. He was a King, and yet He didn’t introduce Himself into a pristine, sterile palace. What’s more, the announcement of the King’s arrival didn’t go through the usual channels: The rulers, statesmen, diplomats, and religious big shots were skipped.
The news went first to lowly, smelly shepherds: The King was awaiting them – in a stable! Stables smell horrible, too. Stables mean fleas, germs, and manure.
Yes, to be a servant means moving downward. It means refusing to be offended. It means entering into our mess, and saying, “It’s worth it, because I love you.”
Several years back, immediately after the Indian Ocean tsunami, I went with a small group to help bring emergency supplies to devastated areas of Indonesia. We were asked repeatedly, “Why are you here?” In Aceh province, many thought westerners – Christians – were their enemies.
One of the members of our group worked in a truck with locals, driving through the devastation, in the sticky humidity, picking up the bodies of their neighbors. They piled them in the back of a truck.
It was horrific work. They wore masks, of course, but there’s no covering the smell of death.
The locals paused and asked him too: “Why? Why are you here?”
He told them it was because he worshiped Jesus, and he was convinced that Jesus would be right there, in the back of the truck with them. He loves them.
“But you are our enemy.”
“Jesus told us to love our enemies.”
We’ve made “love” into a consumer transaction: You do this for me, and I’ll keep doing this for you. But if that’s love, it’s certainly not profound, and not even terribly interesting. Love means downward mobility. It means a refusal to walk away, offended. It means a willingness to get in the back of the truck.
I’ve always liked the idea of “Silent Night”. But I’m told the song must surely be misleading; stables are bleat-y, noisy places. Newborns shriek, too.
But there’s a deeper silence, I think, and it’s wonderful. It’s the silence of a collective, sudden, jaw-dropping realization: After all this… we’re still loved.
We humans, including me – especially me! – are beset with our own smelly selfishness. We know it. The creation that had begun as a fragrant garden had become a blood-stained battlefield. We did this.
Yet… Love came down. It didn’t lecture us from afar. It was born in our mess.
Yes, your daddy still loves you.
He still wants us!”
Jesus, Emmanuel, God is with us!
He entered into the mess of the world so that He could enter into the mess of our lives.
Not so that we could continue to walk in our mess alone, but so that we could walk in our mess with Him.
God is not a transcendent God sitting on His throne in heaven just moving some pieces along.
No, He is a personal God that chooses to be in the mess of life with us.
People often ask the question during difficult times “where is God.”
The truth is our circumstances don’t scare Jesus away!
He doesn’t disappear when things get tough!
No, in fact, Jesus chooses to walk in our mess with us!
Galatians 4:4 When the time had fully come, God sent His Son....
Not in the best of times, but under one of the most ruthless rulers in all of history. The reign of King Herod.
One thing that I have really been reminded of this year is who God chose to reveal the news of that Jesus has been born to.
He chose the shepherds..
The shepherds have a major role in the Christmas story
I believe because the shepherds were typically looked down upon John Wesley explains this when he writes:
“Shepherding was a despised occupation in the eyes of the first-century elite, and the angel’s announcement to shepherds is an example of God choosing to favor the disfavored.” – John Wesley
Homeless
Stinky
Cast out from society
But, they had important roles in Scripture
Moses was a shepherd as well as david and, God is regarded as a Shepherd
Psalm 95:7 NIV
7 for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if only you would hear his voice,
John 10:1–3 NIV
1 “Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
John 10:4–6 NIV
4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” 6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.
John 10:7–9 NIV
7 Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture.
John 10:10–11 NIV
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. 11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
So, God chooses to reveal the birth of Jesus to the lowly outcast
You see, I believe that was for good intention…because Christmas is for everyone! Jesus is for everyone!
Jesus was born and laid down His life for everyone that would hear His voice and respond to them!
So, Christmas is for you!
Emmanuel - God with us!
God is not afraid of circumstances or situations, but one that comes and meets us right in the middle of it!
Not for us to be left alone in them, but to overcome, but to experience His peace.
This Christmas, I encourage you to run toward Jesus.
If your circumstances seem glim, remember that Jesus is Emmanuel. And, that He came for you!
No matter the circumstances or challenges that you face, God is in your corner. And who else would you want?
Jesus, Emmanuel, God is with us!
This Christmas, share Jesus with someone!
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