The Birth That Brought The World Hope
The Birth That Brought The World Hope
Luke 2: 1-7
In the year 1809. The international scene was tumultuous. Napoleon was sweeping through Austria; blood was flowing freely. Nobody then cared about babies. But the world was overlooking some terribly significant births.
For example, William Gladstone was born that year. He was destined to become one of England’s finest statesmen. That same year, Alfred Tennyson was born to an obscure minister and his wife. The child would one day greatly affect the literacy world in a marked manner. On the American continent, Oliver Wendell Holmes was born in Cambridge, Mass. And not far away in Boston, Edgar Allen Poe began his eventful, albeit tragic, life. It was also in that same year that a physician named Darwin and his wife named their child Charles Robert. And that same year produced the cries of a newborn infant in a rugged cabin in Hardin County, Kentucky. The baby’s name? Abraham Lincoln.
If there had been a news broadcast at that time, I’m certain these words would have been heard: “The destiny of the world is being shaped on an Austrian battlefield today.” But history was actually being shaped in the cradles of England and America. Similarly, everyone thought taxation was the big news—when Jesus was born. But a young Jewish woman cradled the biggest news of all: the birth of the Savior.
Today, I want to share with you from Luke 2 the story of the birth of Jesus. His birth truly did change our world. And today I would like to share just a few ways in which it did. let’s take a look at The Birth That Brought The World Hope. Text…
1. His Birth Changed Our Separation from God.- (Brought Us Hope)
As a result of the fall in the garden, man has been separated from God. Consequently, there has been a great divide between God and man. Jesus came into the world to bridge the gap between God and man. Jesus ushered in what I will call the 3 R’s:
1.) Jesus Ushered in Redemption – Ephesians 1:7 – “In Him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.” NIV. By Jesus coming into the world, to bridge the gap between God and man, he brought the remedy, which was redemption. Without redemption, there would still be the great divide between God and man. But now through the sacrifice of Christ’s own blood the way has been made for us through His grace.
A gathering of friends at an English estate nearly turned to tragedy when one of the children strayed into deep water. The gardener heard the cries for help, plunged in, and rescued the drowning child. That youngster’s name was Winston Churchill. His grateful parents asked the gardener what they could do to reward him. He hesitated, then said, "I wish my son could go to college someday and become a doctor." "We’ll see to it," Churchill’s parents promised. Years later, while Sir Winston was prime minister of England, he was stricken with pneumonia. The country’s best physician was summoned. His name was Dr. Alexander Fleming, the man who discovered and developed penicillin. He was also the son of that gardener who had saved young Winston from drowning. Later Churchill remarked, "Rarely has one man owed his life twice to the same person."
2.) Jesus Ushered in Reconciliation – Romans 5:11 – “Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” Through His death Jesus reunited us to God, which is the third R.
3.) Jesus Ushered in a Relationship with God – What Jesus for us was to make things right! He made things between God and us. Without His sacrifice and shed blood there would not have been forgiveness of sins and consequently, there would not have been a relationship.
But I want you to know this morning that God wanted the relationship restored more than we did. Romans 5:8, “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” NLT
I want you to know this morning that the arrival of Jesus was a result of the great love of God to restore fallen man with his creator. It was all a part of the great plan of God that was carried out just for you and me.
2. His Birth Changed Our Status With God. (Brought us Close)
His birth changed the status of man with regard to standing with God. Before His birth and Atonement we were dependant upon the priest to go into the temple on our behalf to make intercession and atonement for us.
As a result of what Christ did we now have full and open access to God through Christ and we can now come freely into His presence Hebrews 10:19-22 “And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven's Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. This is the new, life-giving way that Christ has opened up for us through the sacred curtain, by means of his death for us. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God's people, let us go right into the presence of God, with true hearts fully trusting him. For our evil consciences have been sprinkled with Christ's blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.”
Here are some observations about our changed status:
1.) We went from being a slave to becoming a friend – John 15:15 “I no longer call you servants, because a master doesn't confide in his servants. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me.” NLT The relationship went from one where we were enslaved to the law and to our lostness to one of redemption and reconciliation and then to friendship. You see we were created for fellowship with God. It was in God’s plan all along. But, when man sinned and the relationship was severed the relationship was broken. As a result of his birth the relationship was restored and we can now have a friendship with God.
2.) We went from being a nobody to becoming a royal priesthood – 1 Peter 2:9 “But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are a kingdom of priests, God's holy nation, his very own possession. This is so you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.”
Friends, I’ve come here today to let you know that before Christ came we were just a bunch of nobodies! But through what He has done for us we are now somebody’s!
Who we are now are men and women undeserving of the goodness and grace of God. Exiled from God by sin, yet, we have been brought in by the blood of Christ, forgiven, restored and now we are kings and priests!
Who you are in Christ far outweighs who you are without Him! I want you to know today that when Christ came into the world and through His provisions, eternally changed your status with God. No longer are we strangers and aliens with God, now we are friends with God! Christ changed our status and standing with God.
On our own we could never rise up to the heights that He has taken us to. We could never earn it, attain it, accomplish it; only through His provision can we do it. But He has made it all possible for us today! He has changed our status with God.
3. His Birth Changed Our Sufficiency to God - (Built us up)
His birth opened for us a new and dynamic relationship through which we now find our sufficiency totally in Christ. Before Christ we were engaged in a struggle. A struggle to measure up, to be self-sufficient, to rely upon others, such as the priest for access to God. But through Christ that has now all changed. His has reconciled us unto himself and now we can find our sufficiency in God through Christ.
Let me share some observations on how Christ is sufficient:
1.) He is Sufficient for life and godliness – 2 Peter 1:3 “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.”
Through the power of Christ living in your life He has given you everything you need to live a life of godliness and holiness.
2.) He is Sufficient for the healing of our sin sickness – Isaiah 53:4-5 “Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows…and by his wounds we are healed.” Through His death and resurrection He has provided us with the healing for our sin sickness.
3.) He is Sufficient for the Power and the Ability to Overcome – Acts 1:8 “ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
The birth of Christ truly did change the world as we know it. Through His birth a way, a provision has been made for us. However, the way some people look at Christmas hasn’t changed. Many look at it through the eyes of materialism, getting instead of giving.
It’s been said that if our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator. If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist. If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist. If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer. But our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Savior.
This Christmas season I trust you don’t miss the true meaning and the wonderful things that Christ has done for you as a result of His birth.
History records for us an interesting footnote. It was during the dark winter of 1864. At Petersburg, Virginia, the Confederate army of Robert E. Lee faced the Union divisions of General Ulysses S. Grant. The war was now three and a half years old and the glorious charge had long since given way to the muck and mud of trench warfare. Late one evening one of Lee’s generals, Major General George Pickett, received word that his wife had given birth to a beautiful baby boy. Up and down the line the Southerners began building huge bonfires in celebration of the event. These fires did not go unnoticed in the Northern camps and soon a nervous Grant sent out a reconnaissance patrol to see what was going on. The scouts returned with the message that Pickett had had a son and these were celebratory fires. It so happened that Grant and Pickett had been contemporaries at West Point and knew one another well, so to honor the occasion Grant, too, ordered that bonfires should be built.
What a peculiar night it was. For miles on both sides of the lines fires burned. No shots fired. No yelling back and forth. No war fought. Only light, celebrating the birth of a child. But it didn’t last forever. Soon the fires burned down and once again the darkness took over. The darkness of the night and the darkness of war.
The good news of Christmas is that in the midst of a great darkness there came a light, and the darkness was not able to overcome the light. It was not just a temporary flicker. It was an eternal flame. We need to remember that. There are times, in the events of the world and in the events of our own personal lives that we feel that the light of the world will be snuffed out. But the Christmas story affirms that whatever happens, the light still shines and no matter how dark things may seem, there is hope because of this birth.