The Wonder of His Presence

Bible Passage: Luke 1:26-38; Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 2:8-15

Introduction

Have you seen your first Christmas movie yet this year? Pam and I snuck one in before Thanksgiving. We love watching Christmas movies. We love being together with all of you for the Christmas season. Caroling, cookie eating, wrapping presents, sharing presents, eating cookies, decorating, eating hard tack cinnamon candy, getting some time away from work, and caking cookies so we can spend time eating cookies. Is it any wonder I struggle to not put on some extra insulation this time of year. Christmas for a lot of people is recognized as “the most wonderful time of the year.” What is your favorite thing about the Christmas season? Are you happy to be one of Santa’s elves or do you prefer the role of the Grinch when Christmas rolls around. As I think I told you last week, I had lots of fun taking pictures of the kids at the Mercy Outreach event seeing Santa Claus for the first time. Their eyes would just light up and the skeptical grin would start to grow. “Do I want to go talk to this large dude in the red suit? Can I trust him to make my wishes come true.” The truth is that as fun as Christmas the holiday can be, the joy of a new pair of socks or even the newest Nintendo game system, pales in comparison to the joy of knowing you are safe and secure for all of eternity. Your sins have been forgiven and they won’t be held against you.

This is the real message of Christmas. It’s a message that can bring joy to even the grouchiest of Grinches. It’s the hope we all long to have fulfilled. But gift giving is a good and reasonable reminder of what that mystery is all about. When you first start to understand it, you begin to realize it’s what you’ve needed all along but never knew to ask. We all want to be safe. We all want to know that the mistakes we’ve made throughout our life won’t one day be put on display to shame and destroy us. Lord help me to never lose sight of that most wonderful of gifts. You need to know this Christmas season that you are indeed loved and there is a savior who longs to fulfill your deepest need for forgiveness. It’s not a gift that won’t fit. It’s made perfectly unique for each of us. The relationship you can have with the savior will be different from mine. Our experiences aren’t the same. Our desires are not the same. And what we see and know about life are always very different. Yet He knows perfectly well how to meet each of us where we need Him. So look to Him this Christmas season. Stand in awe and wonder at what He’s done for you. No matter what you’ve done or who you are, He wants you to know that He wants you to be in His presence. He wants you to find the way to know Him and be known by Him. The question is, will you accept the gift that He offers?

1. Gabriel Visits Mary

Luke 1:26–38 “In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.”

Gabriel Sent from God

To a betrothed virgin

To the City of Nazareth

Betrothed to Joseph (David’s descendent)

Gabriel Greeted Mary

Came specifically to her (not accidental)

Greeted her as “favored one”

Brought her words of peace

Gabriel Gave Her a Message

Brought Mary word from God

Explained the reason for hope was Jesus

Explained how it all would happen

The gift and the message Gabriel brought was good news for the world, but not necessarily great news for Mary. She was promised to Joseph and was ready to be married. The news that she would have a baby before she was supposed to be married, could have cost her everything. Joseph could have called for her to be stoned to death. She is not the first person who received a message from God delivered by an angel. Her message of good news was also not the first time that what God said was good, was something that everybody agreed was good. Certainly Jonah is one of the better examples. When given a message and a task from God, he chose to run away, because he knew God was capable and if he said he would deliver, he would. Jonah didn’t want to see the city of his enemies saved from destruction. So instead he risked his own life and lives of a boat full of men who had nothing to do with it. But that wasn’t the cost Jonah was afraid of paying. He did not want to see Nineveh saved and he was not willing to be a part of God’s plan for the city. As a prophet or a preacher, why would you not want to see God do something great through your teaching? Fortunately, I haven’t been sent to talk to people who would be just as happy to kill me as to listen to what God had to say.

2. Angel Appeared to Joseph

Matthew 1:18–25 “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. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 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. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.”

Angel Appeared in a Dream

When Mary was with child

Joseph was just and planned divorce

Angel arrived in Joseph’s dream

Angel Spoke to Joseph

Spoke to him by name

Do not fear to take Mary

Holy Spirit brought her baby

Angel Gave Joseph Direction

Take Mary as your wife

When baby is born name him Jesus

Baby will save his people from their sins

What the angel asked cost Joseph a great deal. Clearly not everyone he knew would be visited by an angel. No one else was going to get the reassurance that he himself received. He was just to accept the message the angel delivered and go ahead and marry Mary. He was given the task of taking her as his wife and waiting for the arrival of the savior who he was tasked with naming. Joseph’s task was to accept the role that He was being given. His task was to protect Mary and make sure the baby was delivered safely. His job was to accept the message delivered in a dream and make room for Jesus to be born into his family. He wasn’t asked for his opinion, he was asked for his obedience. Isn’t that often the way things go? We are rarely given the full picture and scope of what God is planning. Even when we are like Jonah, it may not even be something we want to take part in making a reality. Joseph just wanted to divorce Mary so she wouldn’t be stoned and get on with his life. Instead he accepted the message of the angel and did His part to ensure the safe arrival of the promised savior.

3. Angels Visit Shepherds

Luke 2:8–15 “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!” When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.””

Angel Appeared to Shepherds

Near where Jesus was born

Revealed to shepherds

Glory of Lord shone around the shepherds

Angel Spoke to Shepherds

Fear not

Good news of great joy

The Christ is born

Host of Angels Joined

Praising God

Saying Glory to God and peace among His people

Shepherds went to Bethlehem to share the news

Angels appearing must have been an overwhelming experience. What starts as one with the shining light of God, turns into a whole host of angels singing praise. Music is such an important part of our experience of life. Scripture encourages us to sing praise to the Lord. We’re expected to join ourselves together and praise His name. I can only imagine what it must have been like. Clearly we grew up on a farm here so we know what it’s like taking care of farm animals. It’s smelly. It’s hard work. I remember many times out working hard in the fields and looking forward to not being out working in the fields. I used to love when the fighter jets would come screaming over the hilltops doing their low altitude training runs. I remember one time in particular a couple of F-15 probably out of Norfolk just seemed to appear out of nowhere and looked like they were being shot out of the orchard. They were going so fast I saw them before I heard them. And by the time the sound caught up they were already gone. It was sudden and shocking. I’ve been to Israel now a few times and seen the “wilderness”. If you’ve ever been to the desert southwest, it’s sort of similar. Rocks and shrubs, no trees and not much vegetation as far as you can see. It would have been lonely sitting with the sheep and then all of the sudden, you are not alone. You can almost hear the rambling report when they got back into Bethlehem. I still remember the wonder and awe of knowing for the first time, God existed and He loved me. The feeling of life and hope and joy that knowledge brings cannot be contained. You see that same wonder in the eyes of little children when they see Santa Claus. Recognize that wonder has not changed. Spend sometime this Christmas season trying to recapture the joy of your salvation and the wonder of His presence in your life. It is the reason we celebrate.