Untitled Sermon (11)

is the most beloved of all of the Christmas stories. The account of Luke is probably the most read chapter of the entire Bible- as it tells the story of the birth of Christ.

However, did you notice anything about the story I just read from Luke? Luke takes 21 verses to recall the events around Jesus’ birth....and only 1 of those verses actually focuses on Jesus- verse 7.

1 verse- 1 verse is all that Luke lends to the actual birth of Jesus. The other 20 verses? They, instead, give their attention to the response of the people to the birth of Jesus.

So, for just a few moments today, let’s think about that. I would argue that Luke’s rationale is that what matters the most on a day like today is not the story itself, but your response to the story.

Let me explain what I mean- Jesus Christ was born a real baby, in a real place, on a real day- period. This is the Gospel- meaning good news- it is not an opinion or a fable, it is literal history that happened. Now, there are people that can try to ignore history, but they can not erase it or change it- it happened- period. So, if you chose not to believe that this story is true it still does not change the Gospel; And even if every person in the world except for you chose not to believe this story it still does not change the Gospel- the Gospel is what it is- news, not opinion, fact not fable.

Now, let me be clear.

Luke understands this, so his attention goes instead to shepherds, angles, and Mary- they are the real focus in Luke’s account. I think that is because Luke is more concerned with his readers understanding that Jesus’ birth changed the world as a whole, but what will change your world is your response to the story.

Notice the Angles, the first to respond to the news. What is their response? It’s praise- praise of God. Not praise of the gifts, or of the family, or of the good meal- but praise to God. Friends, you will probably give out a lot of thanks in the next few days. You will thank the cooks for the Christmas feast, you will thank friends and relatives for opening their homes to you, you will give thanks for gifts- even the ones you are not all that excited about receiving- but will you give praise to God? Will you give God glory. And please, do not be naive- just because you happen to occupy a pew in a church this morning does not mean you are giving praise to God.

Let’s be honest there are many pews filled on Christmas Day not with praise, but with guilt because a member of the family twisted your arm to come; not with praise but with manipulation- maybe if I go to church God will fix my problem; not with praise but with loyalty- I am going to church for Christmas because that is what Christians do. And I am going to be blunt- none of those are the right response. If you are sitting in that pew this morning and your heart is listless with praise for God- then friend, I beg of you, examine your heart, check your motives. Because you are missing the point.

First, Herod His story is actually found in . Herod’s response

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The notice the shepherds. Their response? Obedience. “Come, let’s go see this thing.” Tons of people say that they believe in Jesus, yes Jesus is the reason for the season they say, but yet their lives are a hodgepodge of rebellion against God and head turning from His word. The shepherds show us that the correct response to the incarnation of Jesus is not to go on about your own agenda and desire- but obedience. Jesus did not come into this world for you to say “that is a cute story, let’s read it once a year and continue to live life how I want....” Jesus came for obedience and discipleship.

The shepherds could have skipped the trip to Bethlehem- they had a job to do. Maybe they did not feel like traveling that far- or maybe they could have denied the angelic visitation- chalk it up to desert gas or some bad dream. They could have even waited it out and gone a little later, or when it was more convenient. But as Thomas Kampis put it “Instant obedience is the only kind of obedience there is; delayed obedience is disobedience. Whoever strives to withdraw from obedience, withdraws from Grace.”

Here’s the thing- if the shepherds would have not obeyed, if they would have kept going, Jesus is still born, salvation is still at hand- the only people that would have missed out because of obedience were the shepherds. In v20 we are told that they left “glorifying and praising God for what they had heard and seen...” They got the blessing because of their obedience. Listening to God produces blessing in your life.

I remember talking with a friend a few years ago who was quite fond of drinking. He talked about how great his life was, how much fun he had, and what an amazing life he lived- and I asked him if your life is this good standing and directly disobeying God- imagine how much more amazing it could be if you began to obey him and his hand of blessing was on you!

Notice Mary, she too has response for us. The Bible says that Mary treasured all of these things up in her heart and pondered them. A wise man once said that the difference between knowledge and salvation is 18 inches. Why? Because the average distance from a person’s brain to a person’s heart is 18 inches. Mary’s response to the birth of her precious baby boy was not in her head, but in her heart.

You can know the Christmas story inside and out. You can know the facts, the tidbits- you can even memorize all of the verses, but until it transposes from your head to your heart, you’ve not nothing eternally.

Friends, don’t leave this place today until you have thought not just about the story of Christmas, but how the story of Jesus’ birth impacts the story of your life!