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December 22, 2002 | Pastor Brian Shimer
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"Christmas Joy Sunday: child born king"
Luke 2: 1-20
Matthew 2: 1-18
I. Choir introit -- "Mary did you know?"
II. Message part one: "Mary Reflects"
Did I know?
I was staggered by the visit I received from God's mighty angel.
I said to him: "I am the Lord's servant, and I am willing to accept whatever He wants. May everything you have said come true." And I knew that at that moment, I had conceived. That much, I knew, and left to visit my relative he had told me was expecting a child as well! At 70 in her 6th month!! What news!.
When I arrived at Elizabeth's home, I was shocked and filled with joy at her greeting. My mouth overflowed with praise, and I was given a prophecy regarding the child I carried. Three months passed, I returned to Nazareth and experienced the confusion of my family, the near loss of Joseph, the nods and winks of the village women, the clicking tongues, the whispered words.
I was surprised when I ended up in a cave in Bethlehem to give birth to Jesus. All the normal parts of a birth were gone. No family. No mom. I could wonder, did an angel really visit me? Then, the shepherds came and told of their great angelic experience out on the hills. My heart pondered their words.
We went to Jerusalem for the purification offering at the Lord's temple, and were met by Simeon and Anna, declaring this baby to be the Savior. For a moment, again, I knew, and treasured their words.
A year later, the grand and magnificent Magi came from the east. I was astounded as they bowed and worshiped this child, supplying us with the ability to live in exile in Egypt until that crafty King Herod died.
Did I know?
All I really knew, day by day, moment by moment was what I had said to the angel. I knew that I was the Lord's servant. I knew that God was God. But that Jesus was God's son, was harder to keep before me.
We had so many ordinary, busy days. Years of them, really. No angels. No special revelations from God. Just the day by day enjoyment of Jesus.
Everyone loved him in Nazareth. Gone were the rumors of old.
The rabbi loved his ability to memorize and recite the Word: "That boy knows it like he wrote it," he'd say.
Every boy wanted Jesus to play on his team for games.
Every mama was be happy when Jesus offered to carry her water jar home.
And how proud Joseph was of Jesus' learning of the trade in the shop. Working with stone and wood, Jesus was an able assistant, and learned well all that Joseph taught him.
Amazing and Trustworthy, that was Jesus!
That's why, when Jesus was 12, we could leave him behind in Jerusalem and not miss him for we knew, "Jesus is just with one of the families of the caravan." But, no, he wasn't.
Joseph and I returned to Jerusalem, leaving our other children with relatives, and searched for him. I was panicked. Then, after those three days of searching, we found Jesus in the Temple, and my panic gave way to anger. There he was calmly asking the priest's questions-- causing "them to enquire into things which so far they could not know whether they knew or not." (p 234 Oden Systematic Theology, v 2, quoting Origin).
"Why have you done this to us?" I demanded.
"You should have known I would be in my father's house." He responded.
His reply stunned Joseph and me. "My Father's house" he'd said. Truly we didn't understand what he meant. Twelve years of routine life had hindered our hearing, I guess. And 18 more routine years followed. God gave me much time to ponder what Jesus had said that day.
Did I know? All the time? No, perhaps not. But whether or not I could keep such truth in mind, Jesus remained God's Son. Jesus never ceased to be who He was. For who Jesus is, is not based upon my faith, but upon who He is. Whether I believe the truth, does not change truth. All that is changed by my faith is the effect truth can have upon me.
Perhaps your lives are not too much different from mine. Jesus comes to live in your hearts by faith. And you may not have great revelations day by day, but still Jesus is in your life. And He makes all the difference.
How are you going to keep the truth about Jesus before you today?
III. Choir: "Coventry Carol"
IV. Message part two: "The Child Born King"
I. Jesus Christ was no ordinary baby.
First, his mom was a virgin. We done proved that!
Second, his human papa, Joseph, was just his stepfather.
Joseph, was given the right to give Jesus his name, given through the angel.
God was this baby's true Father. Mary became pregnant with God the Son through the power of the Holy Spirit.
When a baby is coming, it is a big event. This month you have heard many stories about sharing "the NEWS" "making preparations!" "creating a nursery" "deciding on a name" -- there are many decisions to make. And then once that child arrives -- you want to go tell it on the mountain! Shout it! "Hey, everybody! She's here or He's arrived!" When Grace came, the nurses were delighted -- they got to deliver her. "You don't want to wait for the Dr?" was their question moments before Grace just arrived. She was not about to wait! "Grace had arrived" so they wrote: "It's a Grace" on their board in pink chalk.
When Susanna arrived on my mom's birthday, I phoned her first, and she burst into tears as I told her: "Have we got a birthday gift for you!"
Babies coming -- that's big news and exciting news. It is news worth telling.
II.
That's why when God the Son was coming to earth as a man, God the Father told the news… He told it again and again throughout time from the Garden to Isaiah, "A child is coming -- and the government will be upon his shoulders."
And that wasn't enough, so God sprinkled the announcement of this child born king through the writings of historians and poets throughout the Roman and Oriental worlds:
Roman historians spoke of it, like Vespasian, Suetonius: "there had spread over all the orient an old and established belief, that it was fated at that time for men coming from Judaea to rule the world." (Suetonius, Life of Vespasian, 4:5).
And Tacitus: "there was a firm persuasion…that at this very time the East was to grow powerful, and rulers coming from Judaea were to acquire universal empire" (tacitus, Histories, 5:13).
A constellation was anticipated by the ancient Magi -- one that would announce the birth of a great king. (above information from Barclay commentary on Matthew, p 17-18)
Among Jewish writers and thinkers was passed the idea that one would come who would rule the world.
And into this time, at this fullness of time, when people anticipated a great world leader, Jesus came.
God's announcement was in the heavens with that incredible star, which led the wise men to come from the East to Jerusalem and Bethlehem.
III. But one announcement was not enough. God arranged for angel choirs, the worship of these mighty philosophers and leaders, the boisterous praise of shepherds, and the participation of creation.
The wealthy and the poor
The gentile and the Jew
The woman and the man
In them the whole of the world came to that cradle
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This Baby was BIG news and threatening news to Satan: We read of God's protection of Jesus from the womb in Revelations 12:
"The dragon stood in front of the woman who as about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born. She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne."
Jesus was put under God's protection. We shared last week how Herod acted the part of that dragon in pursuit of Jesus. But the one born King escaped his jaws.
The holy family, it is told, came to a cave to rest. A spider at the cave wanted to serve baby Jesus in some way, so wove a web across the opening of the cave, in order to making a shield to guard against some of the cool wind. When Herod's soldiers came to the cave and were about to rush in, but seeing the web glittering with morning dew, left it alone thinking: "No one could be in there for the web is covering the opening." And the holy family was saved. That is why we hang tinsel on the Christmas tree as a reminder of those glittering webs! Well, that isn't why I was told we hung tinsel. (barclay, p 16, Matthew)
It is a fanciful picture of creation in service of the new king.
IV. What made this child king so important? Why was Jesus so protected?
Jesus had been born to set right what could be set right no other way.
This miraculous birth dates to the Garden of Eden where God first created people out of the clay of Eden, and filled them with His spirit. In that garden, God impressed upon us His own image. The goal was that we could continue as saints in paradise.
But as the early church theologian Athanasius, wrote: "But since the will of man could turn either way, God secured this grace that He had given by making it conditional from the first upon two things: namely, a law and a place. He set them in His own paradise and laid upon them a single prohibition. If they guarded the grace and retained the loveliness of their original innocence, then the life of paradise should be theirs, without sorrow, pain or care and after it the assurance of immortality in heaven."
From these thoughts of his, which I will continue in a moment, you can hear that more hinged on that one law than just eating a piece of fruit. And what a gift, they had to obey only ONE law. The later Jewish law codes were filled with commandments. One no longer sufficed to restrain the wickedness of mankind!
Athanisius continues: " But if they went astray and became vile, throwing away their birthright of beauty, then they would come under the natural law of death and live no longer in paradise, but, dying outside of it, continue in death and in corruption…" (28-29, On the Incarnation)
The sorry case of the woman's deception and man's rebellion, placed them and all their offspring outside of that place and under the law of sin and death. Once corruption had begun its work, there was no hope of redemption.
No hope. No man-made religion can get us back to god. No feel good music. No fancy home, car, clothing can mend that which is broken, from birth in the human heart.
Death had them completely under its dominion. There was no way to turn back to innocence. The way was blocked to the garden. The transgression was not just a simple trespass to be repented of, but rebellion against God, a desire to be gods.
You might say, "it wasn't me in that garden, why am I affected by that original sin?" Because the ones there were so much further advanced than we ever can imagine. They had all necessary to obey, unlike us. And since they rebelled it was like the beginning of a blood disease that is passed generation to generation. A hopeless and fatal condition -- we know that from such problems as AIDS which runs rampant due to human sin.
"It was unworthy of the goodness of God … that the work of God in mankind should disappear, either through their own negligence or through the deceit of evil spirits" (p 32, on the incarnation, Anthanasius).
The only hope was for a 2nd Adam to come. A 2nd man to be born who would live under the law and not sin. Jesus was a new start for the human race. He came at just the right time in history. He was one who would obey all God's desires. One who would die innocent of transgression, in place of the original fall, thus making Satan guilty of the great transgression, and under just condemnation. Thus a way was made possible for all of us bound under the law of sin and death to be brought to life, freed from sin, forgiven.
When he died for our sins, conquered death in the resurrection and then ascended into heaven, Jesus broke forever the hold death has on people:
Heb 2:14-15: "Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death -- that is the devil -- and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death."
This Jesus was no ordinary baby. He was God and man in one package.
No wonder his birth was announced by the heavens, proclaimed by angels, worshiped by foreign dignitaries, and threatened kings!
V. He was born King. He was born to be my king and yours. Is Jesus your king? If not I am going to give you an opportunity at the close of this message to allow Him to reign in your heart.
Jesus was and is king.
When He is king then we obey him.
When Pastor Keith Igarashi and I went to Kentucky in October to recruit seminary graduates to come and serve in this annual conference, we went with the Bishop's permission. I called and asked and he said, "fine, go!" Well, this week, he corrected our understanding. "You do not need my permission," he told us. "You and I are under the authority of Another and I simply acknowledged that you were working for the same Lord as I am." Jesus is King. The Bishop believes so too.
Due to that trip, according to this week's visit with the Bishop, you know what King Jesus may do, He may work to bring into this conference some of those we met and spoke with! Praise God! What a King!
When you know this King, you have opportunities to speak for him. Leslee Sipp had a young 3rd grader in this week to speak to her because he had been disruptive in class and had slurred: "Jesus!" when asked to sit down. So Leslee said, "when you said Jesus were you speaking to someone? Who is Jesus?" He squirmed a bit. What did he squirm? Somewhere deep inside his heart, he knew that to say that name was significant. It meant something more than to say "Joe" or "Brian" or "Henry" no, to say Jesus was significant.
He and Leslee had a great conversation about how God asks us not to speak using his name in that way. She asked if this boy knew this, with big eyes he said, "No!" She has given him the 10 commandments so he knows, but also, as a beginning road to meet this Jesus.
I was in the class room with my friend John whom I am mentoring and several students came and said, "Are you his dad?" "No," I tell them, "I am just a friend." "Darn," one girl said, "I was hoping you were his dad so I could tell on him." And she proceeded to. "Why do you treat her that way?" I asked. "Nobody cares," he responded. "I care," I told him. "And God cares." "No he doesn't," he retorted. "Actually, God cares a whole bunch," I told him.
You know his behavior is beginning to change.
There is a King.
He does rule.
We are among a people who acknowledge Him. We are asking questions of Him all the time: "Do I go here? Should I do this? What about this program, Jesus, do you want us to proceed?"
We are told in Scripture God gives us a choice, either we bow to the king now or we bow without a choice later. For "every knee will bow".
We are a people who bow -- and in bowing, we tell others about this great King Jesus who makes all the difference. When He was born songs were sung, so we still sing songs! When He was born people traveled long distances to tell about him, so still today, people travel long distances to tell of him. When he was born there was great conflict surrounding him, and still today that exists.
What News we have to "go tell on a mountain!"
I want to ask before we tell that news, if you have never received the gift of salvation, I want you to know it is the best Christmas gift that can be received. IT is the costliest one imaginable -- for the imperishable blood of Jesus was shed so that you could receive life. And it is the most long lasting Gift imaginable. It will never wear out. If you have never said yes, I would like what you want to bring to me, and today is your day, then I invite you to say Yes to Jesus. Stand where you are and let me pray with you. This is not about embarrassing you. This is about an act of commitment.
You stand and come down here, and I have people who will pray with you to receive salvation.
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