Advent A Look At The Manger

Light candles, Pray for open ears and hearts

Advent

ADVENT The Word has Latin roots, meaning “coming.” Christians of earlier generations spoke of “the advent of our Lord” and of “His second advent.”

As we enter into the 2nd Sunday of advent, there are different meanings depending on where you look. One of those meanings is pointing to Christ’s birth in the manger. I was listening to a program a few days back that was looking at what the coming birth of Jesus might of been like from Mary’s view point. We don’t know for certain of Mary’s age but it is estimated that she was probably somewhere between 14 and 16 years old.

But first lets back up and look at things from the end of the old testament. It been about 400 years earlier that Malachi had last written in the book by his name. Those 400 years are often referred to as God being silent in speaking to His people the Jews. Between the time of Malachi and the coming of the Messiah, several prophecies were fulfilled, including the 2,300 days of desecration between 171 and 165 B.C. (Daniel 8:14).

At the time of Malachi’s warning, about 430 B.C., the Jews had returned to Israel from the Babylonian captivity (as merchants, not shepherds). The Medo-Persian Empire still ruled Israel, and the temple had been rebuilt. Both the Law and the priesthood of Aaron’s line had been restored, and the Jews had given up their worship of idols. Nevertheless, Malachi’s warning was not without cause. The Jewish people were mistreating their wives, marrying pagans and they were not tithing, and the priests were neglecting the temple and not teaching the people the ways of God. In short, the Jews were not honoring God.

However, the people did not put to good use either the fulfilled prophecies nor the 400 years the nation was given to study the Scriptures, to seek God (Psalm 43-44), and to prepare for the coming Messiah. In fact, those years blinded and deafened the nation to the point where most of the Jews could not even consider the concept of a humble Messiah.

Then things begin to change and happen. In Luke chapter 1 we read of the coming arrival of John.

Luke 1:5–7 ESV

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. And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.

Do you notice how God often doesn’t do things in a time frame that we might choose? When Abraham and Sara were told of the coming birth of their son, God made them wait, we can learn from that, God often strengthens our faith by causing us to wait, often to show us that it truly is coming from His hand and nothing else. Let’s read on.

Luke 1:11–13 ESV

And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 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.

So God has been silent for about 400 years and then he speaks to Zechariah, but notice that Zechariah isn’t just one of the common religious men of that day, verse 6 states they were both righteous before God. So God chooses to awaken the nation with bringing a child to a couple that have been barren and past the age of normal child bearing. It also states in verse 13 that the Lord had heard Zechariah's prayer. It doesn’t tell us how long he had been praying but we can imagine that it had been for a long time most likely. Do we often give up to soon when we are praying for things that we desire?

And then God puts another piece in the puzzle, lets read further in Luke.

Luke 1:26–29 ESV

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.

Luke 1:30–31 ESV

And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.

Now lets stop here for a moment and consider this part more closely. Lets just assume that Mary was 15, we can’t know for sure. The angel states twice that Mary is a favored one of God. Think about that from a 15 year old’s perspective, if you were 15, engaged to be married and an angel came and told you that, would you feel favored?

Think about what God was asking of Mary for a moment. In those days to be pregnant before you were married was very socially unacceptable. But on the flip side, why was Mary highly favored? I don’t think it was anything that God took lightly, We don’t know much about Mary’s earlier years but I’m sure that she was taught most likely from early childhood to worship and know God. The training we provide to our children and grandchildren and other children can have a profound impact on the future, for them and others.

Luke 1:34–38 ESV

And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 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. 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. For nothing will be impossible with God.” 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.

Let’s stop for a moment and consider how we might have responded if that question were posed to us. Mary had no forewarning of the magnitude of this event. We often hesitate, I often hesitate when God points me to something. How often do we hesitate to follow God’s leading when He asks us to do something, to maybe go share with someone, to stop what we have planed and simply follow His leading, no matter how crazy it might seem. What the angel was telling Mary would happen was totally out of the norm, God was asking her to be something that would bring her shame and be shunned by many others. How often do I remain silent for fear of maybe some possible ridicule for sharing with someone about Christ?

Other than Mary asking how it could happen, her response is simply “let it be according to your word”. Is that our response when the Lord asks us to do something? What might the Lord be wanting to accomplish in and through us if we simple would respond in that way? The only way we will ever know is that, is if that is our response.

Luke 1:41–45 ESV

And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

We read here that Elizabeth reaffirms Mary’s decision to obey the angel proclamation, telling Mary she is blessed among women. And how she was blessed for believing what the angel spoke would be fulfilled. No doubt in the months since the angel spoke to her there were times of doubt and wondering if this had been such a good idea. But Mary trusted and God delivered His promise.

So now the time arrives for Joseph and Mary to make the trek to Bethlehem.

Micah 5:2 ESV

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.

God had set the place some 500 years before.

Luke 2:1–7 ESV

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. 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, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 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.

We have heard this story of Jesus’ birth no doubt countless times, But lets look at it a little closer. If we would have been writing the story of Jesus birth most likely we would have written it differently. After all Jesus was the creator of everything, and he chose to be born in a lowly place. How often do we chose the lowly things above the higher things? No doubt Mary wanted to be in a better place when she gave birth to Jesus, but she was simply obeying, like she had from the start. If we were placed in this situation would we obey without grumbling or complaining? When things don’t go the way we want them to, do we except them or do we complain and grumble about them?

So have you ever thought about what might have happened if Mary had said no back when the angel came to her and told her what God was planning to do? She had a choice, God doesn’t force us to do things. I don’t think that Mary made an off the cuff decision that night. I think she had been trained up to follow God, that she had a trust in God that would carry her through the days ahead. She would experience joy that was unsurpassed, she would be the mother of Jesus, the savior of the world, but she would also experience sorrow that would almost crush her.

Do we have a relationship with our heavenly Father that would or will carry us through what ever comes our way? That when God asks us to do something, whether it be big or small, that we say “Yes Lord”, without hesitation? That’s a hard question, one that requires consideration ahead of time.

Some of you will remember Rev Tom Kile that was here for meetings back in the 80’s, he said that our response simply needs to be “Yes Lord”, that we need to make that decision now, so that when or what ever the Lord asks us to do, our answer is simply yes Lord. Maybe your facing some of those decisions right now, what will your answer be? The only way we will find out what He desires to do in and through us is if our answer is yes.

Now lets take a look at it from Joseph’s view point.

Matthew 1:18–25 ESV

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

No doubt Joseph and Mary had many plans for their marriage and lives together. Guys, what would your response have been if the women you were planning to marry suddenly told you she was pregnant and it had nothing to do with you? He no doubt loved Mary, and he didn’t want to publically shame her so he was planning to privately divorce her and end their relationship. But then the angel comes to him and tells him what is happening. Now, even though he now knew the reason why and who’s child Mary was carrying, he had to make a decision, would he face the public shame against him and Mary for her pregnancy? I doubt that he would have chosen to had he not had a strong faith in God, just as Mary did. It’s interesting to note that as soon as Joseph awoke from the dream where the angel told him these things, he didn’t hesitate in following the angels instructions either. As the time passed and it came time for them to make the trek to Bethlehem I’m sure he would have preferred to have a nice place for Mary to stay and have the baby as well, but that wasn’t God’s plan.

Now lets take a look from the shepherds point of few.

Luke 2:8–14 ESV

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 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. 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. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

Now this no doubt was a rather spectacular event, but the shepherds had a decision to make as well, would they take the angels message as true and try to go find this baby? It’s interesting that it says they made haste to go find the baby and his parents.

So as we look at this event, it doesn’t make any difference what age you are or what your current place in life, from an aged married couple to a young engaged couple. From a priest to a lowly shepherd, as we look at each of their responses, they trusted God and obeyed Him. Are we in a place that we will say “Yes Lord” when He asks us to do something? We cannot convey to others what we ourselves do not possess. Are we teaching our children, grand children, those that we impact, that God is trustworthy? That we need not be fearful to simply say “Yes Lord” when He asks?

I debated on whether to share this or not this morning, many of you have heard this before but some may not have.

March 28, 2018, a day that is etched in my memory, but before I tell you about that day I will give a little background. A few weeks before a spring of water started coming up out of the ground in our yard. No there wasn’t a new source of water that had just shown up, one of our underground water lines had sprung a leak. So I had dug it up with a track loader that I had there at the time. So I had gotten the leaking pipe repaired and in the process I had scraped some of the underground wires that were near it. So on that day I decided it was time to get things covered back up as the weather was changing. It just so happened that on that day someone else had come and drove the loader around the yard. So I went over and started it to let it warm up, it was sitting probably 60 feet away from where I was working on the water line. So I started it and let it set there idling while I went back to the hole to finishing taping up the wiring. So I’m sitting there in the hole working on the wiring and I can hear the putting of the engine on the loader, the sound suddenly changes just a bit the engine, I look up and the loader bucket is now over the edge of the hole right above me slowly coming my way. I instantly jump out of the hole and probably within a couple of seconds the loader bucket is down in the hole right where I had been just seconds before. If I had still been where I was just seconds before it would have chopped me in half.

Now the events leading up to that point had many different parts to it, but they all came to that point at that time. how did the loader end up being parked exactly in the right spot to move directly to the hole? How did it move 60 feet with the heavy bucket on the ground at an idle? How did it move that far without making any noise from the steel tracks? Those are answers I most likely will never know the answer to, but I do know one thing, God at that point reminded me that my days are not mine, He numbers and controls them. Each day I have is a gift from Him, because except for His mercies I would not be here today. I need to be reminded of that, and that my response simply needs to be “Yes Lord” to what every He chooses to bring each day.

As we come together to celebrate communion, let us examine our own hearts, are we trusting God in all things? Are we keeping our relationship with Him fresh each day? Maybe we are struggling in some area of that, what better time to start afresh than now before we celebrate communion. As we look back at what Jesus did for us in the shedding of His blood for us and then as we look forward to meeting Him face to face and having communion with Him for all eternity in Heaven.

Luke 22:17–19 ESV

And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

When you are ready, you can come down the center isle and partake and then return to your seat around the edges. This is an open communion, the only requirement is that you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, but it is a very important one.

>>>>Pray for the bread and cup<<