The Joy of Christmas Sunday evening
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Sunday evening Joys
Sunday evening Joys
We are approaching Christmas, it will be here before you know it.
And Christmas bring an array of emotions.
Consider this with me…
The first time a person faces Christmas after the loss of a loved one, it is difficult, it is tough… sadness floods their heart.
The first Christmas with a new born child, Christmas is forever different. Happiness and joy is in the heart.
When we are older and we have all of our family together, our hearts are happy because family is present and together.
And there is so much more we could list...
But I want to ask you a question.. What are you thankful for at Christmas?
What joy would you like to share as a testimony?
So this evening lets take a little time and review all that is happening in and around the events at Christmas.
God, we know has been at work through out all time, He has been working for our good. For all eternity He knew He would send His son into the world as a gift that would change how the world understood love.
For then and then alone the world would know what God’s love truly was....
The first promise began in , and it is echoed in many other places, especially the prophet of Isaiah.
6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
I
------------------------
And from Micah chapter 5, verse 2 which tells us of the town that the Messiah would be born in..
2 But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
one who is to be ruler in Israel,
whose coming forth is from of old,
from ancient days.
These are just two places that reveal to us the message of the One who was coming into this world.
The most glorious news is the fact that Jesus came into the world.
We see this on the gospel of Luke chapter 2...
5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. 6 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
6 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.
And think of this.. Why did Jesus come into the world. The one who was the ancient of days, the one who was from before this world, why would He be willing come to earth.
A. It was the will of the Father.....
Well, we understand it is the will of the Father, Jesus said this time and time again.
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
I have come that you might have life and have it to the fullest.
I have come that you might have life and have it to the fullest.
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
I have come that you might have life and have it to the fullest.
The glory of the Father seen in the presence of the Son who would also be the perfect sinless, lamb of God.
The Lamb would take away our sin, John reveals that from John the Baptist as he spoke about our Lord that day in the river in
29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
And if we look at the beginning of 1 John, we see this
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
The son came so that our lives might not be held in sin, but instead that we might turn to the Lord seeking forgiveness. Why.. it was the Father’s plan so that creation could have life. And life to the fullest
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
B. The Coming the Son Reveals God’s greatest gift....
I have come that you might have life and have it to the fullest.
The coming of Jesus into the world at Christmas is to reveal to us the greatest gift of all, God’s love.
If we remember the most quoted verse of all…
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Life is always the gift of God, to bring us out of death into the better, the real, that which matters.
To help us pull away from this world and yearn for that which is to come while we wait for him.
And along every day we remember God’s great gift to us.
8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
;
That love was seen in the message that the angel gave to the shepherds
20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 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, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
35 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.
Luke 2
30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 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, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 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, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, 2 just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, 3 it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.
5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.
8 Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. 11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”
18 And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 19 And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” 21 And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. 22 And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute. 23 And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.
24 After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, 25 “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”
26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 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, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
35 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. 36 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. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 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.
39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”
46 And Mary said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
50 And his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
52 he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of humble estate;
53 he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
55 as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”
56 And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.
57 Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. 58 And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. 59 And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, 60 but his mother answered, “No; he shall be called John.” 61 And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name.” 62 And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. 63 And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And they all wondered. 64 And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. 65 And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea, 66 and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For the hand of the Lord was with him.
67 And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying,
68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for he has visited and redeemed his people
69 and has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David,
70 as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
71 that we should be saved from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us;
72 to show the mercy promised to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant,
73 the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us
74 that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
might serve him without fear,
75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people
in the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of the tender mercy of our God,
whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high
79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
80 And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.
10 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. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
1 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And all went to be registered, each to his own town. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. 6 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 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. 10 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. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
15 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.” 16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
21 And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
22 And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” 25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, 28 he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,
29 “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,
according to your word;
30 for my eyes have seen your salvation
31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to your people Israel.”
33 And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed 35 (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”
36 And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, 37 and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. 38 And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.
39 And when they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. 40 And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.
41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom. 43 And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, 44 but supposing him to be in the group they went a day’s journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances, 45 and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 And when his parents saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” 49 And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” 50 And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. 51 And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart.
52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.
The angels said the message would be one of good news of great joy…The word good news, is the meaning of the gospel.
The gospel is good news, it is the meaning of life, it is the message of His coming, His death, burial and resurrection.
This message is the truth, it is what brings life. It tells us of the one who came, who would be a Savior.
A gift for all people. I love that message that came to the Shepherds. God was revealing that He loved everyone, and He is no respecter of person. All who come can be saved, can be changed and can experience eternal life.
C. He has brought us Salvation...
No one truly anticipated just how impactful the gift of God was to the whole world.
I think of the words of Paul as he instructed Titus
11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people,
Just as it was foretold, the goodness of God, the very blessing of God has appeared to us all.
According to the text, this grace has appeared, or is proclaimed, to all men. Christ commanded () that the Gospel be preached to all creatures throughout the whole world.
15 And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.
I trust each of you had a splendid day yesterday with family and friends!
Luther’s Christmas Sermons: Epistles The Appearing of the Grace of God
At first Christ preached the Gospel and only in the land of the Jews, knowledge of the Holy Scriptures being confined to that nation, as Ps 76:2 and Ps 147:19 declare. But afterward the Word was made free to all men; not confined to any particular section. Psalm 19:4 declares, “Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.” This is spoken of the apostles
At first Christ preached the Gospel and only in the land of the Jews, knowledge of the Holy Scriptures being confined to that nation, as and declare.
2 His abode has been established in Salem,
his dwelling place in Zion.
19 He declares his word to Jacob,
his statutes and rules to Israel.
But afterward the Word was made free to all men; not confined to any particular section.
4 Their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for the sun,
As the Lord told the Wise men of the coming of a Messiah in the word of the Jews. And as the star appeared to them, they heard and understood the goodness of God was coming and they went in search of Him.
1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him;
The Magi or wise men are just that, they are not Kings necessarily in the sense that we know or understand it, but men of prestige, of influence who were considered both Wise men and priests, probably from the courts of Persia. They combined astronomical observation with astrological speculation. They played both political and religious roles there in their home land.
In truth these are powerful men and we know their temples still exist today.
They have ties all the way back to the Babylonians and Medo-Persian Kingdoms of the Old Testament. We that even Nebuchadnezzar sought their advise when he could not interpret his dream in Daniel chapter 2.
So they have been around for a very long time...
Now there is one more piece of information I will share with you about these men.. In 600 AD we know that the Armenians listed these three Magi as
Melkon, Balthasar and Gaspar. Three kings who brought three gifts.
This truth is certain, Wise men came from the east in search of the child born king.
You have heard me tell the story before of George Brasswell, the last IMB missionary in Iran before the govt collapsed to religious radicals in the late 70’s. He came across a Magi temple there in Iran and inquired if the story held significant for them. They told Him yes, their records indicated that 3 of their Preexists did go in search of a child born King.
So from our Scriptures to their records we know the story is accurate, they went in search of and found a child born King and His name is Jesus.
You know you might be here today in search of something, something that will give you peace and hope here at Christmas… Its Jesus.
Now people have used the stars to sort their locations and directions.
People have used the season and stars to know when it is time to move from one place to another..But one one has had a star lead them in this sense...Why did they know this star was special?
How did they recognize things were different?Remember these are people who astrologers, they sought answers from the heavens, from the things moving in the heavens as seasons and times passed.
But also being Wise men, they studied other sources of wisdom looking for truth. We know that Jews themselves lived int he land of Persia, They had been in captivity for 70 years during the time of the Babylonians and the Medo-Persian kingdoms, so they had also studied the OT books of the Jews.Let me share
ESV17 I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth.
And while people have always wondered about this star it is safe to say that God gave these Magi a special sign, a miraculous star that told them the world was changing for good. And what did they want to do… they said they came to worship Him.
This fact is a tremendous phrase. for considering what lies ahead, they came to worship Him.
But afterward the Word was made free to all men; not confined to any particular section. declares, “Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.” This is spoken of the apostles
And upon finding him, they were overjoyed and blessed. They entered they place and they worshiped him, the child born King.
. declares, “Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.” This is spoken of the apostles
Imagine with me them, entering the house and seeing Mary and the baby Jesus, we are not told about Joseph, he might be there and perhaps he is not for some reason.
But their response is precious. They fell down and worshipped Him.
He was not of their people, He was not of their land, But they knew he was worthy of worship. They knew He was the ancient of days from what they had studied for hundreds of years.
He was the Messiah.
Worshipped, means to do just that, to ascribe honor and glory to a greater one, reverencing and to kiss the hand of another. We find a instance like this later on in
(Story of Jesus walking on the water and Peter)
And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, "You are certainly God's Son!"
And with worship, they brought gifts to the child king and laid them in front of him. Gifts of gold, incense or frankincense and myrrh
What of these three gifts…
Gold… Well we know gold is a precious metal, just in currency, valuable, more valuable than anything else and would be acceptable even in today’s world, but especially back them.
Frankincense or incense…These are ingredients that were used in making perfumes, more times than not, it was used for sweet smelling aromas to be used in worship, like in the tabernacle or temple worship of God. Zechariah, would have been burning such a ingredient in the temple the day the angel appeared to him.
Myrrh …. Was a very fragrant resin which had many uses, it was used quite often as one of the ingredients to make anointing oil. It was also used to help embalm bodies as we will see at the death of Jesus.
Each of these gifts were costly and precious items, it was indeed a gift, a act of devotion and something special for the wise men to bring such treasures to them. But it was the act befitting the reference and respect due a king.
They came searching for the king, and they found Him.
And each Christmas, we have the joy to worship the great gift of God, and we should worship him and love him.
Luther’s Christmas Sermons: Epistles The Appearing of the Grace of God
According to the text, this grace has appeared, or is proclaimed, to all men. Christ commanded (Mk 16:15) that the Gospel be preached to all creatures throughout the whole world.
I know many of your were up early opening presents, taking pictures and making videos of your children as they opened those gifts under the tree.
Even if sleep filled your eyes, you felt blessed to be with those you love.
What a wonderful time of year, what a wonderful opportunity to be with your families, and not only be with them, but to share the Christ of Christmas with them.
You know I think, if Christmas didn’t involve Christ, it really wouldn’t be special. Oh we would probably be happy or joyful in the gift giving.. but gifts and presents can only bring so much happiness.
Christ is what truly makes Christmas a special time. The reason being is simple; God’s love was made visible to us at Christmas.
Christmas is one of those special events in the life of the Christian, in the life of the church were we have the unique blessing of seeing God’s love in a tangible way in front of us.
We know God loves his children, we know we watches over us and cares for us, but we know it the best through two main events. Christmas and Easter., the coming of Christ and death of Christ.
This morning for just a little while, I want us to consider this topic as we hold the joy of Christmas in our hearts.
God’s love was made visible to us at Christmas. Take your Bibles with me this morning and let’s turn to the Epistle of .
Now we know without a doubt who the writer of this epistle is, it is John the revelator, John who was a brother to James, the sons of Zebedee, who were called in Scripture..the sons of Thunder.
John being best known as the disciple whom Jesus loved, as he lay his head on the chest of Jesus during the last supper.
John was the only disciple who was not martyred for his faith, but he did suffer for his Lord. Imprisoned on a only isle for many years, was finally released in his old age and church history tells us that he finished out his days at the church of Ephesus, teaching about the Savior, dying at what we believe to be well over 100 years of age.
If anyone had a close relationship with God and His Son Jesus, John had to be one of those persons.
As we think about Christmas this morning, there are some eternal truths about Christmas that we can hold in our hearts this morning.
The first truth this morning is simple:
God Loves You.
I know this truth isn’t something that you haven’t heard before, but it is always good to hear again and again, God is defined by love and that love has been extended to us, His children.
reminds us of the simple truth that love is from God.
Love is the defining characteristic and quality by which we know our heavenly Father.
In love He created the world which we know and placed our ancestor Adam along with his wife Eve in the garden.
And as God dealt with man, in good times and bad, love is what is seen in our relationship with Him.
In fact John understood the love of God so much that this one 4 letter word, love is mentioned some 43 times in this one short Epistle.
He loved Abraham and because of that love, he loved and choose Israel and called them…
"Because He loved your fathers, therefore He chose their descendants after them. And He personally brought you from Egypt by His great power,
Deu 33:3 3 "Indeed, He loves the people…
And we are His people, if even by adoption we are His and the Lord loves us.
You know like the children of Israel, the gentile world should boast in the love of God, we should shout it to from the roof tops, God loves us.
Why, because he choose us. Yes, God choose even to love us… and being adopted means we can never be disinherited, we can never be cut off from the Lord.
God love us. But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
God loves us and has made that love known… how by sending his own son into the world.
God Sent His Son…
This is the second portion of truth that John revealed in our verse, that not only did God love us, but that love is made know to us in the truth that God sent his Son into the world.
What had been foretold for hundreds of years finally happened that one particular evening, in a stable in Bethlehem. God sent his Son into the world.
Why did God wait so long? Well we have some clues from history, but the best clue comes from God himself as He shared through Paul in … in the fullness of time.
The fullness of time means just the right time. A the perfect time, at God’s timing he sent forth His son.
When you look back to the Old Testament we see that God gave King Nebuchadnezzar a picture of that time, his kingdom would come, then a Mede Persian kingdom, then a Greek Kingdom and finally a Roman kingdom, but all would be replaced by His kingdom.
Rome brought great help to the land, Rome brought the Pax Romona, the peace of Rome to the land, it was said that every few miles a person could find Roman soldiers and authority. There as a road system, there was a mail system in place and there was now a common language of the people over almost the entire known world.
And it was at this time God sent for Jesus, born of a woman, Mary, born under the law. Born under the law meant He came into this world, under the same legal system of God that condemned men.
The law, the 10 commandments were meant to show us, reveal to us our short comings infront of God, they couldn’t be kept perfectly by mortal man. It was there to reveal our need to God. Jesus came when man needed him most. At Just the right time.
In love God allowed the Son to come, to born into flesh and blood. Literally as John says in , that he pitched his tent among us… living as we lived.. ( In flesh and blood) yet without sin.
I like that word sent.. it carries with it in the Greek the meaning of sending him away from himself to come to us… God the father gave the order and the Son came to us..
The word begotten means He was the one and no other one, no one else was like Him… John reminds us of that.. “He was full of grace and truth..”
God in love sent us the most precious gift of all.. His Son, the marvelous, wonderful Lord Jesus.
Two questions to stop and ask yourself right now, this morning before we finish this message is this today…
And at Christmas, it is absolutely the right time to ask this question…
Do you know God’s love? What do I mean by that today? I mean have you ever, ever in your life ever, experienced, felt or known that love.
Do you know the love that God has for you today?
I think about my relationship with Marci, she knows I love her, and I her. Unquestioning, unconditional love, but that my friends is just a fraction of God’s love for you.
Do you know that love…. Have you meet the Savior? God sent his Son into this world for you to know today… do you know Him, and you aware of the gift that God has given to you today?
Think on those questions make sure of their answer and we
consider this last topic today..
Here is my last point….
All of these things happened that we might have life, that We Might Live!
Look at the last portion of verse 9…
By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.
So that we might live through him…
Jesus came that we might have live. You see the little child, the little boy born so humbly, so poorly in a stable one night 2000 years ago… is the source of life, the true source.
Satan tried to take away life there in the garden one afternoon with Adam and Eve, it was there that God first made a promise toward the coming of a Savior. And Jesus spoke the truth, While Satan only comes to kill, steal and destroy, I have come that you might have life and have it to the fullest..
Look with me at the next verse in I John. Verse 10
In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
True love is seen ( and remember I have asked you already to consider if you have truly experienced love, God’s love.) as coming from the Father, we in our sin are unable to love God, but He loved us and sent His Son to us..
To be ( John says) the propitiation for our sins.
The word propitiation is a word that means appeasing offering or sacrifice, it that which atones for our sin.
Think back to the OT sacrificial system, when the High Priest took the blood of the lamb or goat and offered it upon the mercy seat that sat on the Ark the covenant, God looked upon that sacrificed and accepted it, he was pleased with the spotless animal used to atone for sin and it was acceptable in His sight.
By the same token, God knowing Christ, His Son is sinless, spotless, perfect was pleased and His wrath appeased when Christ gave his life as a ransom, as a offering for sin.
Because Jesus Christ was an acceptable offering, We have life in and trough Him.
The gift that God gave the world, the gift that we celebrate at Christmas is a gif that brings peace, joy, happiness and most of all life.
Many of the things you received from family and friends made you happy yesterday.
They made you smile, they brought laughter and made eve a few things brought a tear to your eye.
But the greatest gift we have, the greatest gift we have ever received did more than this, it brought us life.
The true joy of Christmas, the true blessing of Christmas, the true peace of Christmas is found in the Savior that makes our celebration special.
Because without Christ, there would be no Christmas.
Do you know the love of God, do you know the Savior our world, do you know the fgift He brought, life eternal.
Do you know the Christ of Christmas today.
Lets pray together today
Good morning,
I hope you have had a great week.
We are getting closer and closer to Christmas….
It’s a special; joyous time, for many reasons… and of course the challenge of Christmas is keeping Christ in Christmas…
Christ is the reason we celebrate Christmas… it is the joy, the celebration over his coming into this world.
What a special time for us as the children of God.
And there is so much we do at Christmas… we love on one another, we share with each other and of course we cook so many wonderful and delicious treats….
And with the holidays, we visit with others, we come bearing special gifts and messages of love and joy….
All of these things remind us of the gift God has given us…the gift of His Son….
So with all this in mind, lets move forward and consider this idea…. The visitors of Christmas..
There were visitors that came and shared great news concerning the coming of Jesus into the world…
And today I want us to look at those who came and shared the glorious news of God’s gift with others and of course the message they carried with them as well…
So this morning we will begin by looking at a favorite passage in the gospel of Luke…
So if you have your Bibles, lets find Luke chapter 1
Luke chapter 1 is important, why? It tells us of the Visitors message of Preparation…
So lets look at this …
I love the message of Christmas, it is such a blessing to see all that God was doing in our world.. All that God spoke about through the prophets is close to being seen by the world.
The word of God gave hope for a future, a future when God’s kingdom would be restored and man would indeed live in His presence once again… Men and women longed for this day… but after so many years of silence, the people are distant, away from God.
400 years have passed since God spoke to and thru the prophets… If they were careful they might see what God was doing… most would not.. we will talk more about this in a minute..
Now one last thing awaited… the final work, the last bit of preparation to get the world ready for God’s gift to be received.
Look with me at , verses 5-11 first off….
(ESV)
5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
6 And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.
7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.
8 Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty,
9 according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.
10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense.
11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
So the story unfolds that in the days of Herod, king of Judea there was one priest serving in the Temple area by the name of Zechariah.
Now Zechariah had a wife, Elizabeth… both were righteous before God, verse 6, they walked blamelessly before the Lord.
Now that is a great testimony… to be righteous says they were right, without wrong in their actions, Upright and holy in their conduct, in their life before God. Blameless says they were ones that no one could be accusation against… None could lay evil at their feet. Wow..
That is a great testimony of a person is it not….
So here is a priestly family, but there is one sad point in their life, they were old, advanced in years and they had no children, verse 7.
Now this is particularly disappointing, we know children were important to families, they were then and they still are today for mean reasons, but they did not have this blessing…. At least not yet..
Now Zechariah was serving in the temple, the hour of incense is upon them and Zechariah is tending to the altar. People are praying outside…
Suddenly verse 11 says.. “And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.”
Now look back at our text verse 12-17
12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him.
13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.
14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth,
15 for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.
16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God,
17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”
Listen to what is said….
A. Zechariah, your prayer has been heard… They had prayed for a child, much like Abraham and Sarah so long before them had prayed and now they have heard from the Lord. Your wife would have a son and they could call his name John.
B. You will have joy and gladness, and so many others would rejoice at his birth. John’s life, ministry and message would be a source of joy to the world.
C. In the Spirit and Power of Elijah, John would prepare the way for the Lord… John is the last of the prophets, a man between two times if you will.
He is the last of the ones who share the message of “one is coming whom God the Father has prepared for the world.” He is the last of the Old Testament prophets. And he is the first of a new call, the first New Testament prophet, he is declaring the message… He (the Lord) is coming quickly, prepare yourself to see the glory of God.
The message was a divine one, God sent his angel to Zechariah to tell him what was to come, and how he would bless the lives of many.
D. Here is the best one, the message John declared verse 16 tells us “would turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.
The angel came as a visitor of preparation… Gabriel was telling these parents of a promised son, who would declare the glory and majesty of the Lord
After 400 years of silence…. As the Lord was silent for 400 years while Jacob’s sons, the children of Israel were in the land of Egypt…God raised up a person to lead them back to the Lord their God….
So now after 400 years of silence from the end of Malachi in the Old Testament, God send his angel, Gabriel to Zechariah, and tells of the coming of a son, who would prepare the way for His children to return to Him.
Here is a question, if the Lord sent his messenger to you today, would you receive that message and follow.
2. Visitors Message of Blessing
Now we have looked at the first message the angel brought to the new world… just a few months later, the angel Gabriel returns at the command of the Lord…
Turn with me again to Luke chapter 1…
26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,
27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary.
28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”
29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.
30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.
32 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,
33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
So here again, we find the Lord’s messenger, Gabriel.. Now Gabriel is special, a special angel…
What do we know about Gabriel, we know that he is an arch-angel, and .
“And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.”
Now think of this, Gabriel is always in the presence of God, probably standing before the throne of God… and he is doing just what his name says.. messenger…. And he comes to a young lady, a virgin…
A young lady in the city of Nazareth, in the province of Galilee…. And the angel has some news for her that will not only change her life, but will change the world…
Verse 28 tells us that Gabriel appeared in her presence, and declared that she was a favored one, and that the Lord was with her..
And she was afraid…. You would be too correct….
What did this greeting mean?
He tells her that she is highly favored? It means that God has blessed her, he has given her his grace in that He has chosen her to be the mother of His Son.
What a honor, not mind you, Mary is an ordinary woman, her state in front of God is no different than ours, But God has chosen her to be the instrument He will use to bless the world by the coming of His son.
And then finally the angel says the Lord is with you. His presence has come to her life, He will not abandon her of the work he has called here to do…
Can you imagine the setting, this humble young lady who is betrothed to another, and as she was waiting for her wedding day, the Lord speaks to her and shares with her his plan for her and the world. Man, how awesome…
Now let’s move on….
Mary has found favor with God…. And listen what this favor entails….
Verse 31-33
31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.
32 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,
33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
Can you imagine Mary…. You will conceive and bring forth a son and you shall call his name Jesus…
Mary has never known a man, she is pure, she is righteous before the Lord and Lord choses her to bring forth His Son, who is the messiah into the world.
And Gabriel tells her this about the Messiah, verses 32-33 32 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, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
Listen to what’s being said…
The one whose name means salvation is the very one God would use in providing salvation to the whole world.
Second, he would be called the Son of the Most High.. meaning he will be one who is exalted far above all others…
He will be great….there will be none like Him, no not one can even compare.
He will be given the throne of His Father David… He shall be given the one seat that is a place of power and authority, the one place of royal might that was promised in the OT to the Messiah king, who would save the people from their sins. You see a King saves, He liberates His people and brings them goodness and mercy.
The Angel said he would rule over the house of Jacob forever… to rule over the house of Jacob meant that he is the physical and spiritual leader of the people.
And he will rule forever, his kingdom will never end. You see this child, this promised Son would so radically change this world and all who are in it, why, because his kingdom was different than rest. His Kingdom was permanent, instead of the temporary earthly kingdoms we understand.
The angel brought wonderful news, He brought joyful news, not only for Mary, but for the whole world as well.
Man, what a message…..
A message of blessing this visitor has brought Mary…
Now I know for Mary, this has to be hard to understand, but she has a question… a valid question…
How can this been since I have not known a man…..verse 34
Now Gabriel says verse 35, “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.”
Listen to this response…..The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, he will come to you, relating and reminding her and us that God is the author of creation. He will bring a child into here life.
And the power of the Most High God will overshadow you. The picture would remind Mary of God’s presence with is people in the OT, How he went before them as a cloud in the day and a pillar of fire at night. His presence and power was with his people. He would work and bless for their good.
And I love the response of Gabriel in verse 37 Verse 37… 37 For nothing is impossible with God."
Like I said earlier, at times we wonder how, when we see no way, when we have no hope… but with God there is always hope.
You see that is the whole purpose of the visit of the angel, the people were without hope. They were living as they saw fit. The religious leaders of the day made things too hard on the people and the felt like there could never be a opportunity for them, especially in front of God.
But the angels visit to Mary was a reminder to the world that hope never diminishes where God is involved.
It is always there, always present and always available for any and all who would believe.
How beautiful are the words of hope. This was the visitors message of Blessing to this young lady…
God can bless you today, give you hope… for with God nothing is impossible…
Now just one last thought…
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3. Visitors Message of Worship
You know at Christmas we do a lot of things, we visit and celebrate with family and friends, we share gifts and love with those closest to our hearts….
But do we remember that we should worship?
Flip over with me to Luke chapter 2, and lets find verses 8-10
8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
9 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.
10 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
Visitors came to evening, and they visited a lonely group of shepherds, men who were working and caring for those animals. And a whole host of angels appeared to the shepherds and gave them a wonderful message…
Listen to verse 10 again 10 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
Good news, of great joy that will be for all people..
The phrase there… “Good News” literally means the gospel. It was a wonderful message, good news for all.
And then we have the phrase….. “Great Joy” There was joy with the birth of a child, joy that a son had come into the world. Tthe Joy would be defined in all that the Son came to do and say about the Kingdom of Heaven, the joy would be made manifest to all in a shameful cross that forever reminds me that I am forgiven.
And then this is said… “Will be Given for All People.” There as joy my friends in this truth, the message as meant not just for Jerusalem, not just for Bethlehem, instead it was a message meant for all. The whole world….
The phrase here “All People” reminds us that Jesus came for all. Tao Ethonos…all people, every language…
says “— a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.”
The message was meant to be told, never kept a secret a message for all.
And listen to the rest of their message…. Verses 11-12
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”
In the city of David ( Bethlehem) make no mistake a Savior has come… a savior is one who saves, who rescues and delivers people from tragedy, from adversity…. We understand that He would deliver them from Sin.
Listen to the prophesy that Zechariah gives when His mouth is opened after the birth of john.
.
68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people
69 and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David,
And then we have the word Christ….
“ For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”
The word Christ is the Greek version of the Hebrew word Messiah, the baby that was born this day is the long awaited Messiah, they never thought He might even dare come into this world as as the Messiah, the long awaited one who was also as the last title tells us is the Lord himself.
But now listen to what happens next……
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15 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.”
16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.
17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.
18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.
19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.
20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
I love this the Shepherds were so excited, so blessed by the visit, by the message and by what lay ahead of them… and verse 15…. The shepherds say lets go and see this thing that has been told to us….
And they went and found the child just as they had been told and verse 20 is key… they went away glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
Can you imagine the joy in their hearts, they have seen the angels, they saw that there message was true and they knew that God was with them… they worshiped him… glorifying and praising God…
You know when God shows up and shows off, doing something wonderful in us or someone we know. Don’t you tend to worship him and give him praise… Of course you do..
The visitor gave a message of worship…. And we can still worship Him today…
But it must begin in your heart…..
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