Christmas Eve - The Low Born King

We're going to be in Matthew. Also, we know that there are little ones in here and that is fantastic and great. We are a family-oriented church. And so there's going to be crying and shouting and talking and I completely understand all of that Not A disruption distraction. However, if you feel like you want to stretch your legs or stretch their legs, there is the room downstairs in which the video will be playing of the Gathering for there is an option for you, but just know that they're more than welcome to be in here with us at this time for the next 20 minutes or so. I've already wasted a minute-and-a-half. Wow, Britain bank, man. You got that started early you're going to get these people on their way to their Christmas Eve this evening. I can sell I'm have dinner either so you know, it's okay. Well, you want to if you have Matthew open, that's that's great and be in chapter two this evening. If you want to read a really nice Christmas Story this evening to your family. I would suggest opening Luke's story Luke's account of the retelling of the birth of Jesus really only has one major dramatic moment. That doesn't go well and that's where it's Zechariah and he doesn't believe the word of the Lord when he's in the temple and it's caused him to become a Utes and some people might be like, well that's just fantastic right in that old age. But the rest of that gospel in Loops account is filled with singing and faithful responses to what is being spoken to the people. And so I absolutely love Luke's recording of the story of the birth of Jesus. Yet you get to Matthew and it's almost like the dark Hollywood side of the gospel story of the birth of Jesus the B-side the one that gets released as a dark parody to what Luke was talking about, but it gives much further detail into what's going on since the birth of Jesus. Now, I'm going to shatter some of your views right now of your negativities. If you have a nativity out and your wise men are in the Nativity, they should probably be an extra couple miles away or more for they don't come until later on after Jesus is born and there's some time pass when you compare those stories together and when they come they come and talk to Herod the king who is very much concerned with his kingdom that he was ruling over under a gust. He had this you didn't rule that he was proud of him having control and he was well-liked by many but not by all in his will see his very dark stir in the story a dark King and what Matthew does for us and he's basically saying Christmas comes with conflict or Jesus comes with conflict. Let's look at chapter 2 in Matthew verse 13 when they had departed. We hold an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said rise take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt. And remain there until I tell you for hairs about to search for the child to destroy him and he rose and took the child and his mother by night to departed to Egypt to remain there until the death of her. This what you fulfill with the Lord is spoken by the prophet out of Egypt. I called my son then Herod when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men became Furious and second killed all the male children in Bethlehem and all that region who were two years older under according to the time that he had a certain from the wise men then was fulfilled. It was spoken by the Prophet Jeremiah a voice was heard remodel weeping and Loud Lamentations Rachel weeping for her children. She refused to be comforted because they are no more. What are beginning to their married life you have Mary and Joseph Mary has this birth announcement from the angel Gabriel that has spoken to her and she received in response to it in a positive way. And then sometime later after telling her soon-to-be husband Joseph that she is with child. He didn't think I don't know if I should be with you or not. Cuz either the story you're telling me makes you an absolute crazy wacko kind of person or you've done something terribly wrong that is terminating our marriage invalidates it and we shouldn't be together Angel appears to him and he responds in a positive way and you would see that the Story begins to smooth out except for it doesn't according to ascensus that gets called in on everyone living in the land. They have to go to his homeland and Bethlehem and Mary is very Pregnant at this time ready to give birth to a child that make this track and as we seeing and we know the story they have no place in whatever the in would be of that time and out in a stable where Jesus is born. And then he goes through the time of eight days and circumcision in the 40 days of purification rites and at some point they in back up in Bethlehem. And is there in Bethlehem? And in this region they get word to get word that. Once Jesus's life you think your first two years of marriage has been rough. Think about their first two years of marriage. They said yes, we welcome this child into our life and all of a sudden there is conflict. And as we look at the story that God has been telling us from Jen. This is Aunt we see that conflict has always existed weather in that spiritual conflict of the war between God and Satan or humans rebelling against this great kind gracious God. There's been a war established that we want to do life on our terms our way and we have no play. For you in our lives God because we don't think you're very good. NSB look at this story this evening your face with having to consider Jesus and who is he and when we Read It and Weep are it with Luke? We see the lowborn king for each and every person. In fact, all kinds of people are invited into the story of God. It's not an isolated event for a certain people groups that just bathe themselves get to be the select group that will someday get to be with Jesus. It was an invitation as you look at the characters that make up the story of Mary and Joseph. Yes, but also to Shepherds who were considered outcasts of that day for in Magi from other land to a travel to Jesus King Jesus even Herod Herod would hear that the King has been born. The religious rulers and leaders of that day and age had gathered with him there with the wise men and they knew they'd heard that this king is here and they're all forced with a decision on what are we going to do with Jesus a decision that were all faced with? respond to him in faith how to make Mary and Joseph Not that we see in these wise men or the Shepherds who came or you have conflict because you're forced to see life through your lands your kingdom. You're the king in which you're Seated on the throne. And what we have here is war of worship and allegiance of who I'm coming under and who I belong to the birth of Jesus put your kingdom at risk in the something that we all have to know. We're often trying to build something in which we think that is going to give us the good life. to success relationships through well, there's family with all kinds of ideas and ways in which we look at and say this will give me what I truly want and what I truly desire and when Jesus shows up on the scene, he's going to paint a completely different way of viewing life and what it means to come underneath the good King, but it presents the conflict this war over your heart over my heart and Allegiance. For your way or submitting to who God is coming under him asking because we're human. We're going to follow something believe something. In this belief is that it will make me truly human and what ends up happening is we can set these goals for ourselves and we can set this way of life that if I get it I will finally be happy kid. That is the ultimate thing about Christmas in your mind if I finally get The Millennium Falcon Lego sets in my Lego collection is complete.

Which other ships and droids to build there's other things to get and have in your collection and then to expand worlds and then you'll experience Lord of the Rings World, which is fantastic and there's always something else even in our own upbringing don't you say if I get this finally I will have arrived and that thought process that carries Aunt even from childhood into adulthood and what happens what happens is you have these goals that are set and you either I really fail and trying to get there and you're disappointed and you're grumpy and you're cranky and you're still yelling at the kids that cut across your lawn on 15th and Forest Avenue, right? What are they doing out there? Or you get them and it doesn't satisfy.

Goodbye, friends. What have you gotten in this life and it wasn't enough. I thought I thought that would fulfill me. I thought that would complete me. I thought that would make me whole like I be drunker than you next. area of success the next steps and stages in life and what we see is there's a war going on over our hearts and not will actually make a satisfied hole and it's on both ends of the spectrum people who have made it and people who haven't made it both feel the same in the sense of there has to be something more in this life that will bring me hope and peace or that Jewish Hebrew word Shalom into my life. us enters Jesus lowborn king is Luke describes him one as we often hear who didn't come in a palace but came humbly in the stable one who didn't come with this worldly power at you would expect from a change the born to a lowly family. His reputation was nothing. He then comes out of Nazareth. No good thing comes out of Nazareth was the words of Nathaniel. You got to be kidding me come out of burns. Right? Like I came out of burns bread. That was low. That was low and summer. You're new to the area you like. What is Burns exactly? for comfort We're going to look to something to satisfy this. You arrive at that place where the lowborn king begins to move into your heart and your life and what the story tells us is this king is going to do whatever it takes to get to you. Whatever it costs. Whatever he has to Bear he's going to do it for each and every one of us. So we look at this story and we're going to wrap it up here in just a minute cuz I know kids are in here. Who's your king? Are you kidding? We're going to keep coming back to this over and over again as we look at this Gospel according to Matthew. Who is your king? And what does it look like? If you are his King there's a couple of things that we'll see just this evening very briefly. This King brings a new conflict in your own heart a new interwar in your own life. But also an inner peace a new conflict and a new piece what we see her. First of all is Jesus brings a new piece of conscience into our life in Romans? 8:28. It says there is therefore no condemnation to those who are in Christ. Jesus humans constantly are living in a way in which they're trying to make up for all the wrong that they have done. The constantly having to go back and apologize for the problems. They cost pay people out for the issues. They brought upon them. We live in a way in which we desire and crave righteousness or rightness with one another and rightness with God. That's how we live our lives but it seems to never be enough for any of us and Jesus comes and what he brings into our lives as being King Lord savior. Is he brings a new inner peace that only comes from the one who died for you who live for you cuz life is now yours is a piece a conscious because of what Jesus has done in dealing with our guilt and our shame. Do I have to leave a piece of identity living our lives trying to figure out who we are we talked about. This is all the time here at redeemers because it is one of the primary ways in which to try to identify who we are how we live and what we're doing with what we didn't give him. My identity tells me everything about myself and everything. I want you to know about me and how I'm going to live my life and Jesus comes and he gives us a new identity.

I'm in his new identity this new piece this new way of living He says you don't have to despair. Huge word because we live in a world right now. It is in an immense amount of despair. How good is God able to maneuver through all the stuff that's going on in the world and transitions that are happening. Can I trust him is he really Seated on the throne? And what Jesus is showing us in this story. He came so you don't have to spare and not only that it brings a new strife and conflict into your life because the world doesn't like Jesus the world won't like you. Hard for me to swallow. I like to be liked, you know, you can go down the Michael Scott Lighter thing. Do I have to be like no, but yes, I do. I need to be like I crave to be like I want to be liked and that is an issue that we all have in our Elijah want to be like guess what they didn't like Jesus look at the very beginning of his life. I don't like him. They want to be rid of him. They want nothing to do with him and it wasn't just his birth. It was constantly throughout his ministry until they finally thought they had a way to get rid of him hanging on a cross or crucify him and we'll be done with him. That is not how the story ends. Is it not only will they not like you because they don't like Jesus. They won't like your exclusive claims to Jesus that Jesus is the way the truth and the life and no man comes to the father but by him And it's got to be other ways, right? There's got to be a way to earn your way or be good enough for a lot of spiritual pause that at least the same deity the same God Jesus very clear on why he came he is truth. We need to belong to him. Not only that and finally this evening to close out. They won't like your ideas of being under this God and what it looks like to be in his kingdom is very contrary to the system's the ways of this world presents to us. Jesus says the Way Up Is Down become a servant and the least of these if you want to be great in My Kingdom any presents a radically different Paradigm than what most people are used to thinking and what it looks like to be great in the kingdom of God his way is very different and rats a threat to everybody on the sea. Jesus brings conflict Christmas you might have some family coming into town. Breaking All the Rules going on right now. You might have some Skype conversations or Zoom talks with close family and friends as soon as I can feel a little tense and a little awkward because of what you believe this season's about it's not just getting the family together and getting gifts. It's coming together because Jesus is so we're going to continue to celebrate that this evening. The worship team is going to come back up and Elite us and song and we're going to praise God and we're going to give him her Allegiance you our Lord You Are God you are king. And so we will sing to you switch. You join me in prayer Jesus. Thank you. For your goodness and your mercy and your grace. Thank you that you came humbly into this world and you were given to us. Is there people respond with receptiveness and then you be seated on the throne and our lives and they will be the people of God in this community of Redmond loving and sharing the gospel the good news of Jesus with our neighbors the honored and glorified as we continue to worship you now we give you this time. Amen.