Sermon Tone Analysis

! God’s Christmas Grace

by Tony Evans

/Text: /Luke 1:5-45

/Topic:/ How God sent his grace to real people with real problems.

/Big Idea:/ God orchestrated Jesus’ birth to bring us grace.

/Key words:/ Christmas; Christ, birth of; Grace; Incarnation

 

 

*Introduction:*

* To fully understand Christmas, we must put two stories side by side.

*God’s grace was shown to Zacharias and Elizabeth.*

* Luke 1:5

* The names Zacharias and Elizabeth together mean, "The Lord keeps his covenant."

* To show that he can open Elizabeth’s womb, God shuts Zacharias’ mouth.

*God’s grace was shown to Mary.

*

* The angel Gabriel is the link between the two stories.

* Mary questions the possibility of the prophecy, just as Zacharias did.

* Elizabeth was Mary’s proof that nothing is impossible with God.

 

*God orchestrated Jesus’ birth to bring grace to us.

*

* The masterful plan of God was at work bringing both stories together.

*Conclusion: *

* We have great reason to praise God for sending us his son.

\\  

! God's Christmas Grace

by Tony Evans

 

The world system that you and I are part of has been celebrating the holiday called Christmas.

And on that holiday, people have benefited by it.

Gifts that they would not have received, they've received, because Jesus had a birthday.

Time off that they would never have received, they've received, because Jesus had a birthday.

Bonuses, perhaps that have come because of profit sharing at the end of the year, have come because someone else, Jesus, had a birthday.

But on Jesus' birthday—on the birthday of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, that day when he ought to be recognized for his coming into the world—times when Christ would not come on their minds at all, they're still going through the parade of Christmas.

And yet when the Bible talks about Christmas, it talks about one who not only was born in a manger, but owned the ground on which the manger laid; one who knew nothing but yet in the manger knew everything; one who was powerless because he was an infant, yet powerful, because he has the power of life and death in his infant hands.

Christmas is about Christ.

There's a whole scene that Luke paints for us, relating to the birth of Jesus Christ, which you might tend to miss.

For you see, Jesus' birth was interwoven into a whole political as well as personal scene, that if you ripped that away, you missed some of the beauty that surrounded the birth of Christ.

Now we are aware of the event—that speaks for itself—but are we aware of the circumstances that surrounded that event, which even gives that event power?

You see, the Christmas story surrounds real people living in a real world who had a real problem.

And God did not bypass that real world and those real people and those real problems to just plan a Christmas story.

The Christmas story was planted in the midst of those real people, going through real problems, living real, everyday lives.

To fully understand the Christmas story, we must juxtaposition—we must lay side by side—two stories.

It is the story of the birth of John, and the story of the birth of Jesus.

Those two are placed side-by-side, by the author Luke, because as far as Luke was concerned, to get the impact of Jesus in the manger, you've also got to get the impact of John in Elizabeth's belly.

In order to get the impact of Mary being a virgin, you have to also nave the impact of Elizabeth being barren.

In order to get the impact of Joseph being the espoused husband to Mary, you're going to have to also get the impact of Zacharias going to the temple on his appointed day.

In order to get the impact of Gabriel coming with the message to Mary, you must first see Gabriel being sent by God to Zacharias.

In order to get the impact of the Jesus story, Luke, the investigative doctor, says you must also have the impact of the birth of John.

And so he gives us the story of the birth of John.

Then he goes to the event of the birth of Christ.

Let's see how they interrelate, shall we?

 

*God’s grace was shown to Zacharias and Elizabeth.*

First we're told that there was this priest (in verse 5), whose name was Zacharias.

He was of the division of Abijah, and he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron and her name was Elizabeth.

Now it's very interesting that when you combine the meaning of the name Elizabeth with the meaning of the name Zacharias, you come up with the phrase "the Lord keeps his covenant."

Zacharias means that the Lord is faithful, he keeps his word.

Elizabeth means "the oath" or "the covenant."

So when Zacharias married Elizabeth and the two became one, the Lord keeps his covenant.

It was not chance that the ones whom the Lord honors with this miracle were people who were blameless, who were faithful, who were obedient, and—guess what—who were doing what they were supposed to be doing when they were supposed to be doing it.

See all Zacharias did was go to do his priestly job.

He was just being faithful, that's all, and God met him there.

Well, he tells him the greatness John will have.

John raises the question (verse 18): "Now wait a minute, angel, how shall I know this for certain, for I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years.

We have a practical problem here, angel."

Do you get the conflict here?

Zacharias has been praying for a miracle.

God says, "Prayer granted."

Zacharias raised the question, "Now how we going to do that?"

And now he says, "Look, this cannot be.

God can't do that."

And the angel answered, "Number one.

you don't know who you're talking to."

In the words of contemporary jargon, the angel said, "Do you know who I am?"

And his answer was, "I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God."

We have an unusual statement here.

Here we have an angel saying, "You do not know who I am."

Now why does the angel say that?

Because Zacharias raised the question, "How?

I know I prayed for a miracle but I don't understand how you can possibly do it."

The angel responds, "You don't know who I am.

nor do you know where I come from.

I am Gabriel, and I come from the presence of God.

I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news."

In other words, "God wasn't wasting his time when he sent me.

I'm not wasting my time by coming, so don't you waste my time with that question!"

Well anyway, to make a long story short, "Behold, since you want to know how we're going to do it, let me tell you how we're going to do it.

We're going to do this the same way we're going to stop you from speaking.

Ain't going to be no different.

Same thing.

I tell you what we're going to do.

So you know that God can bring babies when babies can't be brought, to help you out here I'm going to not let you talk for a little while.

That'll let you know that I'm dead serious about this other thing.

So the fact that I can stop you from speaking—I can close your mouth—means I can open Elizabeth's womb.

So be silent.

I know what you're saying, "Well, they did this kind of stuff way back then."

Folks, God is working miracles every day.

He is not doing them the same way, and I doubt if any of us have seen angels that we can strictly identify as angels.

But folks, he is still doing miracles.

Perhaps we're just not close enough to him to see them.

So anyway, Zacharias comes out and he can't say a word.

He wants so bad to tell these folks what's been coming down.

You’ve got to understand that the folks outside are worried, because the priests don't stay in this long.

What is going on?

What is that man doing in there?

Is he still alive?