The Good News - A King has been born who will bring salvation
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Scene 1:
A nurse who worked in maternity wards once told me that Christmas Eve is the most amazing time.
A nurse who worked in maternity wards once told me that Christmas Eve is the most amazing time.
A special atmosphere seems to flow across the ward.
An extra special feeling as mothers look down at their newborn.
There is a sense of peace and tranquillity
A sense of stillness and holiness that is unexplainable.
It is that sort of image that is presented by the manger scene.
Shepherds watch intently a beautiful sleeping child.
The radiant Mary looks lovingly down at her newborn.
Joseph looks on proudly.
Sheep and cattle gaze adoringly at the child in the manger.
All is calm and beautiful and nice.
Now let’s be real here.
It was a stable, maybe a cave or a basic structure.
It probably wasn’t that clean, Mary had to endure childbirth the old fashion way, without pain relief.
At best she had Joseph and a local midwife.
And a bunch of sheep and cattle to provide some warmth.
Now the domesticated sheep and cattle of ancient Israel were more used to being around humans than our Australian free range animals, but it was still a stable.
And the animals were definitely not gazing intently at the newborn child.
If the animals were capable of any conscious thought they were probably wondering if they were going to be tomorrow’s meal for the huge crowd that they had seen come into town.
It wasn’t a scene of power and the impressive arrival of a King.
It was a scene of powerlessness.
God incarnate as a baby, born in a stable to a peasant couple.
Surrounded by livestock instead of the luxury of a palace.
Scene 2:
And when you think about it you have to ask the question, why?
Why did God choose such a setting to enter into the world of humanity?
Why did the creator of the universe seek out the lowest most humble position in order to bring his message of salvation to mankind?
The apostles had to answer that question.
Listen to the words of the Apostle Paul in Philippians 2: 3-7.
Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form,
Here is the key to understanding Christ’s motivation to leave the glory of heaven to also become fully human.
In verse 4 Paul calls the Philippians to not only look out for themselves, but to look out for the interests of others.
To follow the example of Christ’s attitude.
An attitude that is concerned not for self but for others.
This is a stark contrast to what we see all around us.
Jesus moved from a position of ultimate power to one of utter powerlessness.
While still being divine he took on a full human form so that he could serve humanity
Scene 3:
Think of some of the greatest servants of humanity.
People who did not exhalant themselves but dedicated their lives to the service of others.
Mother Theresa.
Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr.
Concern for self didn’t seem to enter into the picture.
Their lives were lived for the needs of others.
But more than that we see in them an attitude of dependence on Christ.
Great as their achievements were they didn’t see that anything that they did earned them any merit with God.
In their humility they understood that personal achievement or virtue are both meaningless in God’s economy.
Listen to the words of Jesus in Matthew 18:1-4
About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?” Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them. Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.
It is this powerlessness that causes such offence to so many.
Who here wants to admit that they need help?
Who here wants to stand before God on judgement day and say;
“Well actually God I don’t deserve to be here!”
Because in reality we don’t deserve to get to heaven.
God is perfect, we are not.
Therefore he can’t share heaven with us.
Jesus illustrated this truth when he told the story of the Pharisee and the tax collector in Luke 18:9 - 14
His disciples asked him what this parable meant. He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of God. But I use parables to teach the others so that the Scriptures might be fulfilled: ‘When they look, they won’t really see. When they hear, they won’t understand.’ “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is God’s word. The seeds that fell on the footpath represent those who hear the message, only to have the devil come and take it away from their hearts and prevent them from believing and being saved. The seeds on the rocky soil represent those who hear the message and receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they believe for a while, then they fall away when they face temptation. The seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And so they never grow into maturity.
Scene 4
That is why Jesus came as a peasant child, born as a pauper in a borrowed stable.
He identified with us.
He had no riches, what little the family received from the wise men was used up fleeing to Egypt to escape persecution.
He had no position in society.
But he gave his life, lived perfectly without sin in total dependence on his heavenly father as a sacrifice to pay for our sin.
So that we can stand before God on judgement day and say,
“Lord, Nothing I have done qualifies me to be here, but Jesus has paid for my sin and has promised me that there is a place here for me!”
Why did Jesus come and take on humanity as a poor child of a peasant family.
To show us that the only way to come before the Father is to come in complete dependence, realising that there is nothing that we can bring.
Except the gift of Christ.
Scene 5:
Jim Cymbala, Pastor of Brooklyn Tabernacle, regarded as one of the greatest pastors in the world today tells the following story: It was Easter Sunday and I was so tired at the end of the day that I just went to the edge of the platform, pulled down my tie and sat down and draped my feet over the edge. It was a wonderful service with many people coming forward. The counsellors were talking with these people. As I was sitting there I looked up the middle aisle, and there in about the third row was a man who looked about 50, dishevelled, filthy. He looked up at me rather sheepishly, as if saying, "Could I talk to you?"
We have homeless people coming in all the time, asking for money or whatever. So as I sat there, I said to myself, though I am ashamed of it, "What a way to end a Sunday. I've had such a good time, preaching and ministering, and here's a fellow probably wanting some money for more wine."
He walked up. When he got within about five feet of me, I smelled a horrible smell like I'd never smelled in my life. It was so awful that when he got close, I would inhale by looking away, and then I'd talk to him, and then look away to inhale, because I couldn't inhale facing him. I asked him, "What's your name?" "David." "How long have you been on the street?" "Six years." "How old are you?" "32." He looked 50 -- hair matted; front teeth missing; wino; eyes slightly glazed. "Where did you sleep last night, David?" "Abandoned truck."
I keep in my back pocket a money clip that also holds some credit cards. I fumbled to pick one out thinking; I'll give him some money. I won't even get a volunteer. They are all busy talking with others. Usually we don't give money to people. We take them to get something to eat. I took the money out.
David pushed his finger in front of me. He said, "I don't want your money. I want this Jesus, the One you were talking about, because I'm not going to make it. I'm going to die on the street." I completely forgot about David, and I started to weep for myself. I was going to give a couple of dollars to someone God had sent to me.
See how easy it is? I could make the excuse I was tired. There is no excuse. I was not seeing him the way God sees him. I was not feeling what God feels. But oh, did that change! David just stood there. He didn't know what was happening. I pleaded with God, "God, forgive me! Forgive me! Please forgive me. I am so sorry to represent You this way. I'm so sorry. Here I am with my message and my points, and You send somebody and I am not ready for it. Oh, God!"
Something came over me. Suddenly I started to weep deeper, and David began to weep. He fell against my chest as I was sitting there. He fell against my white shirt and tie, and I put my arms around him, and there we wept on each other. The smell of his person became a beautiful aroma. Here is what I thought the Lord made real to me: If you don't love this smell, I can't use you, because this is why I called you where you are. This is what you are about. You are about this smell.
Christ changed David's life. He started memorizing portions of Scripture that were incredible. We got him a place to live. We hired him in the church to do maintenance, and we got his teeth fixed. He was a handsome man when he came out of the hospital. They detoxed him in six days. He spent that Thanksgiving at my house. He also spent Christmas at my house. When we were exchanging presents, he pulled out a little thing and he said, "This is for you." It was a little white hanky. It was the only thing he could afford.
A year later David got up and talked about his conversion to Christ. The minute he took the mic and began to speak, I said, "The man is a preacher." This past Easter we ordained David. He is an associate minister of a church over in New Jersey...and I was so close to saying, "Here, take this; I'm a busy preacher." We can get so full of ourselves.
Jesus came to that humble stable,
He came for people like David.
He came for people like you and me.
Will we come to Jesus as he humbly came to us?
For here we will find Salvation