The Miracle of Christmas

Galatians 4:4-7

Galatians 4:4-7 (KJV) 4  But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5  To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. 6  And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. 7  Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

Intro:

IT'S WONDERFUL TO BE A CHILD. ESPECIALLY THIS TIME OF YEAR!

THE ANTICIPATION OF CHRISTMAS...GIFTS, FAMILY COMING TOGETHER...ALL THE EXCITEMENT OF THE SEASON!

IT'S EASY FOR CHILDREN TO GET CAUGHT UP IN THE JOY OF CHRISTMAS.

EVEN SWEETER STILL TO BE A BABY AT CHRISTMAS TIME.

MY FIRST CHRISTMAS WAS IN 1961 - I DON'T REMEMBER IT. BUT THEY DID TAKE A PICTURE!

LIKE ALL OF US, WHEN I WAS A BABY I WAS HELPLESS. HELPLESS AT CHRISTMASTIME AND ANY OTHER TIME.

THAT'S HOW HELPLESS A BABY IS.

BABIES COO AND GIGGLE AND GURGLE - THEY CAN DO NOTHING FOR THEMSELVES.

WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, IT IS TRULY REMARKABLE THAT GOD WOULD ALLOW HIS SON, WITH ALL HIS POWER,

TO COME TO EARTH AS A HELPLESS CHILD.

BUT THEN, IT'S NOT LIKE GOD GAVE HIS SON OVER TO A HUMAN COUPLE TO RAISE AND TAKE CARE OF HIS SON,

GOD WAS TOTALLY IN CHARGE OF THE RAISING OF JESUS.

HE JUST HAPPENED TO ALLOW THE FAMILY OF JOSEPH AND MARY TO TAKE ON THE HUMAN RESPONSIBILITY.

THE BIBLE SAYS VERY LITTLE ABOUT THE INFANCY AND CHILDHOOD OF THE LORD.

IN LUKE 2 - THE BABY JESUS IS BROUGHT TO THE JERUSALEM TEMPLE FOR HIS CIRCUMCISION.

THERE HE IS BLESSED BY THE RIGHTEOUS SIMEON AND ADORED BY THE PROPHETESS ANNA.

IN MATTHEW 2:13 JESUS AND HIS FAMILY FLEE TO EGYPT AFTER BEING WARNED BY AN ANGEL OF THE MURDEROUS PLANS OF KING HEROD.

INCIDENTALLY, SOME WRITERS HAVE SPECULATED THAT THE REASON THE FAMILY OF JESUS RECEIVED THE GIFTS OF GOLD, MYRRH AND FRANKINCENSE WAS TO SUSTAIN THEM FOR THE TWO YEARS THEY WERE IN EGYPT.

AND IN LUKE 2:41 THE TWELVE YEAR OLD JESUS RETURNS TO THE TEMPLE WITH HIS PARENTS TO CELEBRATE THE PASSOVER.

AFTER BEING SEPARATED FROM HIS FAMILY HE IS FOUND IN THE MIDST OF THE TEACHERS OF JERUSALEM.

HIS EXCUSE, IF YOU COULD CALL IT THAT...

LUKE 2:49 - 50 - WHY IS IT THAT YOU WERE LOOKING FOR ME? DID

YOU NOT KNOW THAT I HAD TO BE IN MY FATHER'S HOUSE?...

WHY IS THERE SO LITTLE INFORMATION ON THE FORMATIVE YEARS OF JESUS?

THERE HAS BEEN MUCH SPECULATION - SOME HAVE IMAGINED THAT HE TRAVELED IN HIS YOUTH,

AS FAR EAST AS CHINA AND AS FAR WEST AS STONEHENGE.

BUT WE HAVE NO EVIDENCE OF EITHER.

SOME HAVE SPECULATED THAT JESUS WAS A MIRACLE WORKING CHILD - THAT HE MADE BIRDS OUT OF PAPER AND BROUGHT THEM TO LIFE.

OTHERS SAY THAT HE HEALED THE SICK AND RAISED THE DEAD EVEN IN HIS CHILDHOOD.

DO WE NEED THE BABY IN A MANGER? DO WE NEED THE MIRACLE WORKING CHILD?

DO WE NEED THE JESUS OF MYTH, SUPPOSITION AND SPECULATION OR...

DO WE NEED THE JESUS OF THE REALITY OF THE SCRIPTURE AND EXACTLY WHO IS THIS CHILD JESUS AND WHAT DOES HE OFFER?

SOME HUMAN PARENTS PLAN TO BE PARENTS.

THEY MAY SPEND YEARS GETTING AN EDUCATION, SAVING MONEY, GETTING THEIR LIVES IN ORDER SO THAT WHEN BABY ARRIVES, THE FAMILY WILL BE PREPARED.

SOME CHILDBIRTHS ARE UNPLANNED. PARENTS MIGHT BE "PAST" CHILDBEARING AGE IN WHICH CASE THEY GAIN THE BLESSING OF A SURPRISE BUNDLE OF JOY.

SOME PARENTS IN SOME CASES MOTHER MAY NOT EVEN KNOW THAT SHE IS WITH CHILD.

IN THE CASE OF JESUS, THE TIMING AND PLANNING OF HIS BIRTH WAS OF THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD

THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD PROVIDED FOR THE HUMAN BIRTH OF HIS SON AS WELL AS OUR LIBERATION IN THE SALVATION OF JESUS FROM THINGS OF THE WORLD.

WE ALSO SEE THAT IT WAS NECESSARY FOR JESUS TO HAVE BEEN BORN UNDER THE SYSTEM OF LAW. HEBREW LAW.

EVEN THOUGH JESUS WAS HELPLESS AS A BABY HE IS THE PERFECT EXAMPLE OF NOT ONLY OF HELPLESSNESS,

BUT OF OUR POTENTIAL TO BECOME CHILDREN OF GOD AND TO LIVE IN FOR HIM.

LIKE US, THE BABY JESUS HAD NO POWER TO SAVE BUT LIKE US HE WAS COMPLETELY RELIANT ON GOD THROUGH HIS PARENTS, JOSEPH AND MARY FOR THE THINGS NECESSARY TO HIS LIFE.

WE HAVE ANOTHER PICTURE OF JESUS IN LUKE 2 AT THE JERUSALEM TEMPLE.

TWELVE YEARS OLD AT THE TIME - I REMEMBER BEING TWELVE YEARS OLD.

I WAS THINKING ABOUT BASEBALL AND SCHOOL.

I NEED YOU TO HEAR THIS AS PARENTS - OUR CHILDREN ARE NOT GOING TO BECOME SPIRITUAL PEOPLE ON THEIR OWN.

WE MUST LEAD THEM - WE MUST HELP THEM COME TO KNOW GOD AND HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM.

I HAVE DISCOVERED THAT A PERSON’S LIFELONG BEHAVIORS AND VIEWS ARE GENERALLY DEVELOPED WHEN THEY ARE YOUNG – BEFORE THEIR TEEN AGE YEARS.

THIS SHOWS 4 CRITICAL OUTCOMES.

• FIRST, A PERSON’S MORAL FOUNDATIONS ARE GENERALLY IN PLACE BY THE TIME THEY REACH 9. THEIR FUNDAMENTAL PERSPECTIVES ON TRUTH, INTEGRITY, MEANING, JUSTICE, MORALITY, AND ETHICS ARE FORMED EARLY IN LIFE.

• SECOND, RESPONSES TO THE MEANING AND PERSONAL VALUE OF JESUS’ LIFE, DEATH AND RESURRECTION ARE USUALLY DETERMINED BEFORE AGE 18.

• THIRD, MOST SPIRITUAL BELIEFS ARE PERMANENTLY FORMED BY THE PRE-TEENS.

• “IN ESSENCE,” “WHAT YOU BELIEVE BY THE TIME YOU ARE 13 IS WHAT YOU WILL DIE BELIEVING.”

• FINALLY, ADULT CHURCH LEADERS USUALLY HAVE SERIOUS INVOLVEMENT IN CHURCH LIFE AND TRAINING WHEN THEY ARE YOUNG. (IN MY CASE I HAD AN GRANDFATHER AND PARENTS WHO TAUGHT ME AT A VERY YOUNG AGE)

• CHURCHES THAT EXERCISE A GREAT INFLUENCE IN CHILDREN’S LIVES REALIZE THAT CHILDREN MEAN A LOT TO GOD.

I want us to recognize not only the significance of one moment in time but also of the strategic nature of those moments. We would refer to the strategic nature of time as timing.

Have you ever stopped to consider how important timing is to everything that exists? Do you plant tomato plants in November? Do you paint the outside of your house in January? Do you go swimming in the pond during February? No? Why not? It's not the right time! There is a right time for such activities. I think we would all agree that December is not the best time to try starting a diet, right?

Think about the importance of timing in sports. If the timing is off, the quarterback won't connect with his receiver for a completion. It doesn't take a minute to throw off the timing in football. If the timing is off the basketball player will arrive at the spot before the ball or after the ball is already passed. Think about the importance of timing for our daily lives. If you have ever missed a flight because you arrived one minute after boarding you know the importance of timing. You are delayed at work, but because of the delay you missed a major accident on the interstate. If you are the parent of a preschooler, you know that if you turn your head for one minute, that preschooler can be long gone and into trouble.

Does one minute make a difference? Just ask those who made it out of the Twin Towers minutes before they collapsed. One moment, one sixty-second interval of time, placed in just the right location can make all the difference in the world.

It is so easy to get all wrapped up (no pun intended) in the activity of the season that we miss the miracle of Christmas. This Christmas season, let's spend some moments reflecting on the significance of Christ's birth.

Galatians 4:4 is an incredible verse. It says, "When the time came to completion, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law" (HCSB) Did you hear that? God's Word says, "When the time came . . . " At just the right time God sent His Son. That represents the miracle of the moment.

WHEN THE FULLNESS OF TIME HAD COME. The Promise was kept. The Old Testament is full of promises or prophesies. They begin when in Genesis 3:15 God promises us that a redeemer would come, and this redeemer would bruise the head of the serpent Satan, and provide atonement for the sin fallen condition of man. It was prophesied or promised that this Messiah would be from the lineage of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and from the tribe of Judah. The New Testament is full fulfillments of the promises of the Old Testament. Like in the first chapter of the gospel according to Matthew, Matthew gives us the genealogy of Christ, and when we look at that family tree confirms, it confirms the fact that Jesus indeed was the seed of the Patriarchs, and of the tribe of Judah. It was prophesied or promised that Jesus would be heir to the throne of David. It was the Old Testament prophet Isaiah that says in Isaiah 9:6-7; for unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. 

CLOSING

At just the right time in history Jesus was born. The coming of Christ into the world was not a matter of chance or coincidence. His coming was part of God’s divine plan established before the foundation of the world. “Historians tell us that the Romans world was in great expectation, waiting for a deliverer, at the time Jesus was born. The old religions were dying. The old philosophies were empty and powerless to change men’s lives. Strange new mystery religions were invading the empire. Religious bankruptcy and spiritual hunger were everywhere. God was preparing the world for the arrival of His Son.”

Now is the right time to make that commitment to Christ. Jesus said in Mark 1:15, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe in the good news!" Now is the right time to make that commitment to Christ and receive God's gift of salvation. Now is the time to join the church. Now is the time to recommit to your marriage and family. Now is the time to renew your commitment to walk in close fellowship with Christ. The right time is now to draw close to the Lord!

One moment in time can determine an eternal destiny. Right now is just such a moment. You don't have to live your life separated from God's love and blessing. Today is the right time to receive God's gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. If you have never made a commitment of your life to Jesus Christ receiving Him as your Lord and Savior, then I want to invite you to make that commitment today. This moment can change your earthly direction as well as your eternal destiny. Choose Jesus and you are choosing an abundant life on earth and an eternal life with Christ in heaven. It is just what you need for just this exact moment. That represents the miracle of Christmas.