No Space In the Room

Good morning. Let's begin with scripture from Luke. It says in those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration that was taken while Cornelius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea to the city of David called Bethlehem because he was a descendant from the house and the family of David. He went to be registered with Mary to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there the time came for her to deliver her child and she gave birth to her firstborn firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth and laid him in a Manger because there was no place for them in the end. That is the traditional Christmas Story and I want to begin by sharing a few things that might land on your ears as surprises concerning this familiar passage. We have this image in her head of Joseph and Mary arriving and an Innkeeper saying there's no room at the end, you know, just go go sleep in a barn go go do something and you think will Joseph didn't plan ahead or people weren't very nice in Bethlehem. And the truth is when you do a little research into scripture itself. There was most likely no end in the story. It's interesting one historian about Middle Eastern culture says look to turn away a descendant of David in the city of David would have been an unspeakable shame to the entire Village. So this image that there was an Innkeeper who kind of freely said, oh, I've got a man but there's no rooms. Just go your way really isn't based in scripture or in history there probably weren't public ends in a village of small as Bethlehem. Where there be rooms just for the public. So when you do a little more research the word use there this translated in in a lot of translations is really a guest room in a private home. It's all part of the dynamic here. Is there they're approaching someone's home who says there's no I don't have a guest room available for you, which is interesting and just bear with me as I unpack some of these surprises because I'm going somewhere with this if you will if you will bear with me, so it's the same word in the original language that Jesus uses in Mark 14:14 when he says to his disciples about preparing for the Last Supper say to the owner of the house. The teacher asked where is my where my guest room is where she's me? Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples and again the same verse Get the clicker to work here.

Well, it suddenly stopped that we go and say to the owner of the house. The teacher asked you where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples. It's the word in the New Testament in that. Of time that would have referred to an extra room in someone's home. And so Jesus and his disciples go to this person say hey, I want to use your guest room for my disciples to have this meal. Secondly there was most likely no barn or cave during this time. Livestock were kept in the house at night so part of the dynamic here and I think I've got a map here that I'll show you in the New Testament a home was built this way. There was a family living area and there was a guest room often with its own separate entrance. And then there was a room that was used as a stable at night because for safety for the animals they were brought in to be kept safe. And in the morning the first thing to have they be led away from the home to the pastor and where they would stay during the day, but at night they were kept there for safety reasons. Now you see this principle in scripture again in first Samuel 2824. It says now the woman had a fatted calf. Where did she have the fatted calf? In her house, so the imagery that was some time having our minds of a barn or a stable or cave far away from the home where the animals has kept doesn't match history and doesn't match what scripture assumed I include Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees about the law and he says but the Lord answered him and said you Hypocrites does not each of each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or is Donkey from the manger and Lead it away to give it water and was referring to is that the normal practice is to wake up in the morning and say we've got these animals that we've brought into this room during the night to keep them safe from predators are from theft and safe for the environment. And now first thing in the morning you get up and you walk those animals away from your house where they're going to spend the day not in your house not in that room and the room becomes a room is converted in used during the day. So what scripture says Mary plays Jesus in the manger the feeding trough because there was no space in the room is referring not to the idea that Where was all these rooms but they were all full up but that when they came to a home the person said look my guest room. I have no guest room. It's full of guests already and all the senses is going on. Everybody has come into town all of us, but you can stay in the room that we keep our animals in which would have been an inside room a protected room. It would have been our minds the way we think of it would mean that different than us having our dogs are pets in our house. It would have been a dirty no-good room that nobody is the room they would have stayed in during the day so you can stay in there and then the original language when it talks about Mary letting Jesus in the manger. It's not referring to there's no room is referring to there's no space within the room. Like if I looked at my desktop and said there's might my desk and I said, there's no room for my laptop to sit on that desk. There's no space within that so she's there in the room with the animals, but there's nowhere to lay the baby. Because the room is packed. So guess what Joseph? I guess I'll just lay in here in this feeding trough. The room is so full. There's nowhere else. So the feeding trough probably a little bit off the ground. It's probably this sort of item a stone feeding trough, or maybe it would one with hay in it. And so she says there's no there's no space anywhere in this room that we're in and so I'll just lay him in this trough here to take care of him. One more thing that we kind of assumed that when you look at it doesn't pan out to be what we assume it says while they were there the time came for the baby to be born. I don't know about you how many have this image of this rushed birth of the baby Jesus in your mind. It's it's always kind of been talked to me in the way. It's been taught as they go into town and The Innkeeper says, there's no room in the inn and slams the door and send them on their way. I guess we'll just stay in this part of the baby's coming. We got no choices until there's this sense of rushed and they're living in a barn. Look at the Shepherds have been told this is the Messiah and they believe that this was beside they came and saw him would have arrived and he have been in a barn or cave animal know where the first thing they would have done would have said. Well, you're coming back to my house. You're not staying here. You're the Messiah they weren't they were most likely in a home and there's no logic to say it had to be a hurry birth once caller says Luke doesn't mention whether they were there for five minutes or five weeks, but it could allow for for both.

Part of what I want. I'm sharing this for is to point toward a fundamental truth that we sometimes forget. And I think it's important that we don't forget it. Okay. Christmas and Christianity are both solidly historical. Don't know bare with me and you'll see why this is supremely relevant for us as we apply it to our life. Luke goes out of his way when he starts to write the Christmas story before he writes all the details. He says look I myself carefully investigated everything for the beginning. I too decided to write an orderly account so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught. Luke is a historian. And he says that the beginning I'm riding these books. I'm riding the scriptures. I'm putting this down and you need to know I have researched. This is history. This is objective fact, I've done it intentionally so that you can know with certainty what's happened so that you can know this truth. Look at what John says in 1st John 1 making about Jesus. He says look that which was from the beginning which we have heard which we have seen with our eyes which we have looked at and our hands have touched this we Proclaim concerning the word of life the life appeared. We have seen it and testify to it. We Proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the father and has appeared to us. He goes on to continue to talk about Jesus in those verses he's going out of his way to use language. They say we're not telling you a parable. We're not telling you a nice story. It's really not the Christmas story in the sense that we read the story about Mary and Joseph and there was no room at the end and then they have the bay. Be in the shepherd's, and a little baby Jesus. No crying. Did he make that night feel that that kind of has a lack of realism to it that that kind of suggest. Isn't that a great story that just inspires us? But look Luke goes out of his way to say I'm not telling you some story that's meant to inspire you I've researched this. I'm telling you objective historical fact. This is the reality of what occurred Christmas is historical and in the larger sense of Christianity is historical. Now, here's the application. Okay, in case you're thinking you know, why is that relevant? Think about the culture we live in For some reason I'm missing slides here.

All right, here we go here before I say what I'm going to back up and say I don't know why my slides are out of order. The culture we're living in is always trying to unhinge truth from objectivity in history. So that truth becomes a personal preference or a choice. Do you see that? Can I get an amen? Here's why this non-traditional Christmas sermon is relevant and is applicable to our lives to be reminded that Christianity and Christmas are historical because we live in a culture that is constantly and consistently trying to sell us the idea that truth needs to be unhinged from objectivity or from history. That is kind of a personal preference. Right? Well that may be true for you but it's not true for me. I guess that's your preference and in people even say I look I love Jesus. I love the Christmas story. It just warms my heart and when I look at the teachings of Jesus, it just makes me realize you know, he's right. We need to love God and love others and that's all I want to do with it. The danger is that salvation becomes something that is not even possible or isn't real it becomes. Doctrine of works by Humanity it becomes this idea that okay. So if I just do what I think is right, then I'm a good person and I'm going to go to heaven. Do you see that kind of dominant thinking in our culture? The danger of that is it does it does not take send seriously that humanity is broken. and that left to ourselves we will hurt ourselves and we will hurt others and we will hurt this world and it is a very dangerous thing even though it sounds nice to say can't we all just try to get along and be good and isn't that enough well, For many thousands of years Humanity has essentially held that position. No one is ever advocated. I think we should all just be rotten and evil and is means as we want everyone is always said let's try to make the best of things the best we can how has that worked out history Buffs. What is humanity done with this self this past Century? What are we done in terms of wars and famine and starvation? What kind of world do we live in in terms of how people are cared for who aren't starving and in poverty. So there's this danger to slipping into let's not worry about the history ocity. Let's just say isn't that a great story and it inspires me to feel good. And I'm going to try to work hard at being good. There's a danger when we unhinge Christianity from the historical reality that the scriptures themselves go out of their way to say look, we're telling you we saw him with her all night. We touched him with their own hands. This is a historical reality. It's vital that we don't let go of that because the culture constantly wants us to let go of that truth only back up a little bit when we look at the history of Christianity Christmas. We need to be reminded of these truth even though it sounds like a lecture and it sounds a bit like really it's just a Christmas sermon. It's vinyl. It's vital that we learn how to understand this for ourselves and we learn how to have conversations with others who essentially want to say to us. Hey Christianity's great. That's good. Knock yourself out. I'm glad people are trying to be better. But it's not for me. And the culture wants us to say to that. Okay, it's a free it's a free country for free world. You just do what you got to do. What I do know, I'll basically be good. And that is a dangerous thing because it does not take send nor God himself. Seriously. It does not provide salvation because we cannot save ourselves when we look at the history off in your scripture. We look at the gospels. They bear the earmarks. Marks of of accuracy when folks want to say to go to the checkout at Kroger. You'll find a great Magazine from time talking about Christmas and it'll be full of falsehoods. That there's no validity to the Christmas story that there's no authenticity to the gospels that they were written late that they're full of Legends and none of that is based in actual research or objective truth. But we live in a culture that just wants us to say let's not talk about that. That's boring. We need to know that our faith is solidly historical flip the gospels were written close to the time of the events in which they reported. So the events there's events not in the book of Acts that all historians would acknowledge secular historians would acknowledge because certain events that we know happened historically are not recorded in the book of Acts than that tells us that the book of Acts was written to a certain time because otherwise it would have included those event to all historians would agree that acts as written around 62 and it's part 2 of Luke acts so Lucas written around 60 pill with Luke the story of Jesus's birth his miracles his death is Resurrection the Gospel of Luke written so early it's written within the lifetime of those who are claimed to be Witnesses of all the events including the birth of Jesus. It's a lifetime if it's made up if it's Legends, there's going to be people who step forward and say I lived in Bethlehem. I was a shepherd. I'll just happened there was no how about there was no, we didn't hair didn't do all these things that were babies, you know, we keep verifying all this both historically within scripture and outside of scripture. And so we need to know when feel confident about the validity and hysteroscopy of Christianity of the truth and Sherwin white who's in Oxford University professor says that two generations are needed for legend to alter history. So it have to be at least eighty years past the event before anybody could try to slip in to history while I actually there and try to alter it just doesn't line up with research archaeology keeps confirming the New Testament for years and years. Scholar said look Nazareth did not exist during the time of Jesus. Okay. So are you Christians the Bible true? I believe the Bible is trustworthy its historical know it's not we know that that Nazareth didn't even exist during the time of Jesus and Christians and Christian Scholars as we know it did. And then in the past 50 years twice archaeology discovered remnants of homes that were clearly homes in Nazareth during the time of Jesus and John the past 50 years all of Scholars including second or Scholars have change that opinion and said yes, nazarus existed during the time of Jesus, but will the only thing you'll get in the magazine as you check out of the grocery store is stuff. That's not proven not verified that 30 year old that sounds good to those you're riding it but it's not actually historically accurate just this week a ring that was discovered 30 years ago because of Advanced Technology an article came out that they were able to read the ring in a way that they haven't been able to read it since they had it in their possession for 30 or so years and they ran in Scripture that tells you it's Pontius pilate's ring and it's a ring of inscription or stamping that he would have used one point in our history scholar said we don't even think Pontius Pilate was a real person and then so much evidence continues to come forward that validates. So not only the dates of the gospels themselves that record the stories about. His birth is Miracles. His resurrection is teaching. Those are valid validated by the dates of the Gospel. But archaeology itself continues to point toward the truth. But as I said, our culture is always trying to unhinge truth from objectivity and get us all just a settle with the idea that well that may be true for you or not true for me or or that's okay or really salvation is just me doing what I know is right and what I think is right and there's a danger to that as I said because the truth is the gospel is not that Jesus comes to Earth tells us how to live. We live a good life and then God owes us blessing. The gospel is that Jesus Christ came to earth live the life. We should have lived and died the death we should have died so that when we believe in him, we are accepted and live a life of great people. Joy for him. That's the gospel that we cannot save ourselves. We are not going to evolve as a human race with technology and greater and greater advancements until we finally have no sin or no struggle or no crime or no heartache. We are in desperate need of being saved. Can I get an amen? I mean if we're honest isn't that one thing everybody in this room has in common. We are really familiar. I might even say good at sitting. Write all of us. Even the sweet little old ladies that we could never imagine. Just ask their husbands. Just ask anybody closed anybody else. Yeah, we are at the very best. We're room full of imperfect people at the very worst. We sometimes defiantly and intentionally ignore Jesus and his will and his way. We are in desperate need of a savior and thank God. Thank God the Christmas story is not just a story. If it was just a story it would just be one more collection of evidence that makes me feel lousy for not rising to the level of inspiration some great story should cause me to rise to for me not to think of the poor because there's the story about God who came to earth once in flesh and hell he came so humbly help the poor has watching out the horn. I don't do it and see if it's just a story. It's just more boots on our next that remind us that we cannot save ourselves, but it is not just a story it is true. God took on human form. It happened at a date at a time in history. True and real complaint about the application. If God became human in Jesus than Jesus deserves our worship and our Allegiance.

Here's some application for us. We need to think hard and study and learn and be confident about our faith that is based in history. That is true. And when you leave out the implications of Jesus was God In the Flesh that he absolutely merits our Allegiance and our worship. He is not someone we add to our life as we see fit to we let the culture we live in tell us hear the American dream and we plan it out and we got everything in its place and we say Jesus I'd like just a Sprinkle enough of you on there to keep me from getting the cancer word from the doctor and never going bankrupt and never having a divorce in my life. I just want enough of you so that I can ride fat dumb and happy from the Cradle to the Grave. But listen if Jesus was God In the Flesh than we fall down on our knees before him and he merits are full Allegiance. We give our lives to him. Our lives and our children. Our homes are money our time. We say Lord this 70 years are short. I want to serve you and I want to impact eternity. And your will and your way is greater than the moment I in when I'm tempted to send or I'm tempted to work my own way my own will in a way that dishonors you.

Jesus is God in the flesh. That he merits our worship and our Legions without hesitation. And it's a beautiful thing because Jesus is God come to Earth in the flash a second application is look God ended the world in Jesus Through very humble circumstances, which means god reaches not down to us but over to us. I think about the implications of that. It's not the story of a God saying you guys are so pitiful. I can't even the smell of your sin. I can't even bear it. I'll somehow figure out a sacrifice so that I can just know instead. He takes on human flesh and comes down and walks Among Us lives among us so that he can know our sins and our struggle so that he can know the pain of loneliness and betrayal and heartache so that he can know the struggle and temptation of send so that he can know what it's like to feel lonely and rejected and betrayed so that he can know all those things so that in the midst of that pain he can live the life that we should have lived instead of reacting with bitterness or hurt or or addiction or self-indulgence or for pursuing success that numbs our paints. Jesus lived a lie, but knew all of our struggles and all of our heartache he knew what it was like to be human and a live this perfect life. For us this life without sin for us so that he could reach over to us and say I know what it's like. He understands our weaknesses. Stick came in these humble circumstances so that we wouldn't say God save me. How could God save me? I'm a no-good. Dirty Center God is for church people God is for good people who somehow managed their lives. Well, I'm screwed my life up royally ever have nothing to do with me. I'm so broken and so frail and Jesus came and said absolutely everyone is some just hide it better than others or pretend is not true. But everyone is in need of a savior and it came in the form of a humble child of a weak human and took on flesh so that he could walk the path that we're walking and walk it perfectly.

What author said it this way? The Incarnation means that God himself has gone through the whole Human Experience from the trivial irritations of family life Thanksgiving, but we were glad when Monday came. Oh good. Everybody's going back home in the house is going to be a little bit from the trivial irritations of family life and the cramping restrictions of hard work and lack of money to the worst horrors of pain and humiliation defeat Despair and death. He was born in poverty and suffered infant pain all for us and thought it well worth his while he says it for the joy set before him. He endured the cross and that joy in the context of that passage is the thought of reuniting you and I to his father. For the joy of reconciling us to God Jesus endured the cross. Came not as a Superman savior flying down to the Earth saying I'm so different. I'm so superior but took the form of a baby took the form of a human who could be beating who could be betrayed who could be cursed in Spanish Pond and who can be crucified. So that he could take the pain that we married because of her own behavior so that he could pay for our sins. That's what we celebrate when we come to the communion table. We celebrate one thing. You don't always crack me up. I was at a church. It wasn't he was a church of Tennessee years ago and the senior Minister. I know it will sound like here because of it when I get home.

An m in Creative there go, you know, it's not me and this habit Got This Groove got cut in the communications everybody that give me a meditation. They felt like they needed to do a 15 minutes me meditation and I needed to be novel hit need to be something we never heard before it needed to be creative and every week, you know, some aspect that I always just thought hey Communications are the easiest thing in the world, but just communion is squarely about Jesus Christ and remembering his sacrifice. Jesus gave us the give me meditation break the bread is my body broken for you. Take the juice or the blood to take the wine. That's it represents. My blood drink it is mine fill out for you. We are remembering the life and death of Jesus Christ on our behalf. When we come to the communion table, which is the heart or the essence of the Gospel itself. Philip. Yancey said it is I read the birth stories about Jesus. I cannot help but conclude that the world may be tilted toward the rich and Powerful God is tilted toward the underdog This not only historically true everything we read in the gospels about Jesus Christ and his birth and Christmas and Christianity, but it also means we can look at that specific specific particular historical truth and learn something but only is it true that God came to Earth in the flesh as a human baby. But he chose to come in the midst of poverty he chose to come in the midst of Scandal in some ways this web not yet sealed the deal young teenage girl is invited to bring God into the world. He did come in the context of the underdog because the truth is the whole human race. $100 because we're all marked by our sins and her struggles, even though we might create an illusion for ourselves through self-sufficiency for a season or two in our life. We are all desperately dependent upon God and so the good news comes down to this and I'm about to worship team to come forward at this time. There's a great verse in Hebrews and you've hurt me quote it many a time and will end with it this morning. The author says let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find Grace to help us in our time of need that verse comes at the end of the author of Hebrews discussing Jesus efficiency as our sacrifice and it reveals that treasure true that we should hold on to in her heart everyday. Because Christmas is historical because Jesus really did come in the flesh that he was God In the Flesh then salvation is truly by grace.

Do you see the logic and the connection of that?

God really did take on human flesh and take on our sins pay the price on the cross get put in the Earth for 3 days and a resurrect on that third day. That's a historical reality. Our sins have been paid for through the work and the blood of Christ. And so thoughts in her head that say if I just work harder if I'm just good enough if I would just quit blowing up at my in-laws at Thanksgiving dinner and making a jack out of myself if I could just somehow get better if I could just somehow do this if I could just that that stuff that we put on herself. If I do this then it will equal my salvation. All of that is irrelevant. salvation comes in one form calling upon the name of Jesus Christ believing the reality the truth of his coming to Earth in this little baby. and eventually going from that wooden manger to the wooden cross. and paying the price for you and I it's confirmation not only of the historical reality of Christmas and Christianity, but it's confirmation of the reality that our Salvation is by grace. The confirmation of the reality of what the author Heater says here when we think about approaching God's Throne. Let's be confident. That what we're going to get when we go to his throne is Grace and help. Because he's already demonstrated the reality of his heart toward us through Jesus Christ. It don't matter what weighs you down this morning this week or this month. Sometimes December the holidays can be a time of regret over broken relationship. Sometimes it can be a time of grief over lost loved ones. Sometimes Christmas is not a happy time. For some people. Sometimes we are weighed down during this time. I pray that you would go to this verse in Hebrews and you would think about the reality of the Christmas story. The reality of it and you would know that this verse is absolutely true. It's proven true in history in the Life Death resurrection of Christ that we can go to God's throne. And what we find is Grace and help with prey. Father we we thank you that you challenged us took sometimes maybe think thoughts. We haven't thought before that you challenged us to look at things in new ways and Lord. We know that we believe Christianity and Christmas is true, but sometimes we don't bother to think about it. And so we thank you for looking at your word and looking at history and being reminded that it is true.

And Lord made that truth be what shapes our hearts and our emotions.

May we might not be ruled by our own regrets or anxiety or fears? But may we instead focus on the truth of the Christmas story the truth of you coming to redeem us.

And made that truth cause us to know that we can approach your throne this moment. And this whole season and any time we can approach your throne knowing with confidence that we're going to receive Grace and help. You've already revealed your disposition toward us. in Christ on the cross and we thank you. We love you for that. In Jesus name amen. During our song that we folks in the front and the back if you have a prayer concern or need we want to pray with you if there's something that we need to know about that you need help with in your life. Let us know during this time. If you have a decision to make I'll be in the back. I can answer questions or pray with you about anything on your mind to heart. Please stand as we sing.