SERMON: FINDING HOME

 

Naylor Community Christian Church

I.  Introduction

      -- turn in Bible to Psalm 23

 

1The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

 

2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

 

3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

 

4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

 

5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

 

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

 

      -- about 10 years ago, Richard and Maria Price adopted a kitten from a rescue organization in New York -- their new kitten, which they called Mimi, had been feral -- it had grown up outside on the streets and roamed New York with a community of other cats -- eventually, it was captured by the rescue organization, neutered, and put up for adoption

      -- Mimi had lived with Richard and Maria for about two years when they went on vacation -- and the family member they had house-sitting for them accidentally left the door open and Mimi escaped -- when Richard and Maria got back, they searched everywhere for their lost cat, but couldn’t find her at all -- for a full year, they put up flyers, checked the shelters and the vet clinics, and kept an eye open for their missing cat, hoping to bring it home again

      -- but time went by, and Mimi remained missing -- Richard and Maria figured it had reverted back to living on the streets or maybe someone else had found her and taken her in -- eventually, Richard retired, and he and Maria moved to Spain with the three cats they had since adopted

      -- well, you can imagine their surprise this past December when they received a call from an animal shelter in New York that Mimi had been found -- ten years after she had gone missing! -- it turns out that Mimi had been living on the street for the last ten years, finding food and shelter where she could -- she turned up regularly at a home not far away from the Price’s old home, where the owner fed her, along with several other cats who lived in the community

      -- after his death, the house was sold, and the new owner continued the practice -- he noticed Mimi’s fur was matted and thought something was wrong with her, so he managed to capture her and took her to a vet -- they scanned the cat and discovered a microchip, which gave them Richard and Maria’s name -- and, just like that, Mimi was home again¹

 

      -- I think all of us can identify in some way with Mimi -- although we were made to live in harmony with God, the Bible tells us that all of us have sinned and fallen away from His glory -- separating us from God and from our place with Him -- and, like Mimi, we are cast out into this world -- lost and alone and trying to live our lives the best we can, while always aware that we were made for a better place

      -- but the good news of the Bible is that even though we are lost and don’t know the way home, God reaches out to us -- He calls to us -- He pours out His grace and His presence in our lives -- calling us to come home -- calling us to come back to Him

      -- and no matter how far away you wander -- no matter what you do -- no matter the sins you pile up and the distance you put between yourself and God -- God is always waiting to help you find your way back home to Him again

      -- that's the heart of the gospel message -- that's what we proclaim when we sing, “I once was lost, but now am found,” in the hymn, "Amazing Grace" -- you can always come home again

 

      -- while we don't usually think of it in this way -- and while we don’t very often hear this Psalm taught from this perspective -- the 23rd Psalm is a message of hope for those who are lost -- for those who are wandering in far off lands looking for home

      -- we find in this Psalm a message of hope and a promise of salvation and redemption for the lost wanderers, because in this Psalm, God promises restoration and home-coming to those who wander -- to those who turn from their ways and return to their God once again

      -- let's take a few moments and look at this Psalm together as we consider the message of hope and home in this familiar passage

 

II.  The Lord is Our Shepherd

      -- verse 1

 

1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

 

2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

 

      -- everyone knows this psalm as the shepherd’s Psalm -- because David uses the relationship between a shepherd and his sheep as an illustration of the relationship God has with His people --in fact, in the original Hebrew, David constantly uses the name, Yahweh Roeh -- Jehovah, my Shepherd -- as he refers to how the Lord relates to him

 

      -- now, we're pretty familiar with the concept of shepherds, even though we don’t have a lot of sheep here in south Georgia -- but we all know that a shepherd is a person who tends sheep -- someone who raises sheep and looks after them and keeps them from harm -- but a shepherd in our day is not the same as a shepherd in David’s day -- their jobs and their roles and their relationships with their flocks of sheep are different

      -- during David’s time, shepherds weren't merely people who periodically looked after their sheep and kept them from harm -- being a shepherd meant a lot more -- shepherds identified with their flock -- they lived with their flock -- they spent every moment of every day with their flock

      -- for the shepherds in ancient Israel, their flock became their family -- and every member of that family -- every individual sheep was important -- the loss of a single sheep from the flock might be the difference between the shepherd making it through another year or losing all that he had

 

      -- in our day, shepherds don’t spend that much time with their sheep -- rather than staying with the flocks and watching over them night and day, modern shepherds keep their flocks in fenced pastures, trusting in the fences to keep them safe -- periodically checking on them and making sure they have food and water and are taken care of  

      -- but during the time when this Psalm was written, there were no fences to keep sheep in -- sheep are not the brightest animals -- I’ve heard from shepherds that sometimes the sheep just start feeding and start walking and if you don’t have them fenced in, they just wander away because they’re not paying attention to where they are

      -- that was a worry to shepherds in David’s day -- if you weren't careful, the sheep would just wander off, away from the flock -- before long, they could get lost or find themselves in danger -- either from physical hazards, such as rushing water or rocky slopes, or from predators who were seeking to eat them

      -- so, the shepherds never left their flocks alone when they were out feeding and moving from pasture to pasture -- they would stay with them and make sure their sheep were safe and protected from all harm -- and the sheep came to know their shepherd -- they trusted that the shepherd would take care of them -- they didn’t have to worry about anything -- the shepherd would make sure they had green pastures for rest and for forage -- the shepherd would lead them beside still and quiet waters where they could drink without worrying about predators sneaking up on them or worry about drowning in raging rivers -- the shepherd was always there for them -- protecting them -- guarding them -- taking care of them

 

      -- as you know, David was a shepherd early in life -- and he understood that relationship between the shepherd and the sheep -- and he came to realize that the way the shepherd watched the sheep was the same way that the Lord watches over us

      -- so, here in this Psalm, David makes that analogy -- he tells us that the Lord is our shepherd -- He takes care of us just like a shepherd takes care of a flock of sheep -- providing for our needs and protecting us and giving us the peace that comes from knowing that He is in charge and that nothing will happen to us without His knowledge

      -- when David says that the Lord is my shepherd, he is referring to our relationship with God -- when he says that he will not want -- that is recognizing that in God all our needs are met -- when he says that the Lord makes us lie down in green pastures, he’s referring to the rest and the peace we have with God when we are in relationship with Him -- and, finally, David ends verse 2 by saying that the Lord leads us beside the still waters -- that is refreshment and protection

      -- when we are living in harmony with God -- when we are in a relationship with Him -- He protects us and guards us and meets all our needs, both physical and spiritual

 

III.  The Lost Sheep

      -- but sometimes, sheep get lost

      -- normally, if the shepherd noticed that one of the sheep was starting to feed off too far or was starting to wander away, then all he had to do was call out -- the sheep would hear his voice and come back -- as Jesus pointed out in John 10:27, His sheep hear His voice and follow Him

      -- but occasionally, sheep did wander away and get lost -- who knows why? -- maybe they just kept straying so far away that they couldn't hear the shepherd's voice and didn't notice they were separated from the flock -- maybe they just had a rebellious streak and chose to ignore the shepherd and wandered away on their own -- or maybe they just thought they knew better than the shepherd and thought that if they followed their own path, it would lead to even greener pastures and even better places to drink

      -- for whatever reason, sheep sometimes strayed and wandered away and became lost -- and when this happened, the shepherd would go and search for the lost sheep and try to bring it home again -- in Matthew 18:12, Jesus said, "If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?"

      -- it is not the will of the shepherd that any of the sheep should be lost -- he goes out and tries to find the lost sheep so that He can bring them home again -- he wanders through the wilderness and calls out to the wayward sheep -- in the same way, God calls out to us when we stray away from home -- when we stray away from our relationship with Him

 

      -- in the church, we talk a lot about God’s grace -- and we recognize that we experience God’s grace in three main ways -- we call these prevenient grace -- justifying grace -- and sanctifying grace

      -- prevenient grace is the grace that goes before us -- “pre” means before -- “venient” means “to come” -- so, prevenient grace is the grace that we experience before we come to God -- it is God calling us to Him -- wooing us back home to Him -- God reaching out to wandering sinners before we are ever aware of Him and His great love

      -- justifying grace is the grace of the cross -- the grace that makes us holy before God -- the grace that makes us justified in His eyes and that brings us home again -- justifying grace can be remembered as the grace that restores our relationship with the Father -- just as if I never sinned -- justifying

      -- the final grace is sanctifying grace -- this is the grace that works in our life, primarily through the action of the Holy Spirit within us, to make us holy -- so that our actions and our thoughts and our lives begin to look more and more like that of Jesus -- so that we might become holy as He is holy

 

      -- in this passage, as David uses the illustration of God as our shepherd who calls out to us and saves us when we wander from Him, we God’s prevenient grace in action -- the grace that goes before us -- the grace of God calling to us and bringing us back into relationship with Him anytime we stray -- anytime we wander -- anytime we get lost

      -- even as Christians, we sometimes drift away -- we backslide -- we sin -- we turn away from God -- but God doesn’t leave us alone -- as our Good Shepherd, He continually reaches out to us and calls to us before we stray too far away from home -- before we stray too far away from the flock

      -- it is God's prevenient grace that works in the lives of all of us who have slipped and wandered away

      -- and the good news of God’s prevenient grace and His great love for us is that no matter how far we stray -- no matter how far we may wander away from Him -- we can always come home again -- all we have to do is respond to His voice and turn from our ways and turn back to Him, then He will gather us back into His flock once again

 

      -- look at verse 3

 

3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

 

-- God restores my soul -- He brings me back to the place of righteousness -- the place of right relationship with Him -- to the safety and security of the flock -- He restores me when I wander

      -- through prevenient grace, He guides us back from the far-off country -- from the wilderness of life -- and back onto the path of righteousness -- if we listen to His voice -- if we follow His voice -- He will lead us back home again

      -- we started watching the TV show Survivor again last year after a long break from it -- and every season, they have a similar challenge -- all of the contestants are blindfolded except for one person, whose job it is to guide the others and direct them through a maze until they reach the finish line -- the only way the blindfolded contestants can find their way to the end is to listen to the voice directing them and guiding them down the path they should be following

      -- in the same way, David points out here that the voice of our shepherd will always guide us down the paths of righteousness -- but we have to know Him and we have to know His voice -- and we have to listen and respond to His prevenient grace calling out to us in order to find our way home

 

      -- verse 4

 

4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

 

      -- this verse speaks of a person who is on the path of righteousness and headed back home -- they are walking through the valley of the shadow of death

      -- now, that's a curious phrase, isn't it? -- the valley of the shadow of death

      -- note that death is not a threat to them -- the only thing in the valley is the shadow of death -- but if you are a Christian -- if you have been saved by Christ and have responded to His call and have accepted Him as Lord and Savior, then death has no power over you

      -- the shadow of death may still fall over your life -- unless the Lord comes back in our lifetimes, all of us in here will one day die a physical death -- but, as Christians, death holds no fear for us because death is just the door leading back home to God forever -- death is our entry into eternity with Christ -- as Paul writes in 1 Cor 15:55, "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?"

      -- for a Christian, there is no fear of death or evil or the evil one, because Christ has overcome death and sin and Satan through the power of the cross -- all that is left on this side for a Christian is the shadow of death, which is not to be feared

      -- note also that this verse says that we pass "through" the valley -- we're not called to stay in the valley because that is not our home -- our home is with God -- and the Good Shepherd will lead us all the way back to Him  

 

      -- these verses go on to say that the Christian is comforted by the rod and the staff of Christ -- the rod alludes to the shepherd's crook -- the shepherd uses this to guide the sheep as they feed in green pastures -- as they pass by, he uses it to count them to make sure none are missing -- the rod is security for the sheep

      -- some scholars suggest that the word "rod" in this context may also refer to the word of God or the gospel message -- Solomon used the same word when he wrote, "spare the rod and spoil the child" -- in both instances, we could take this to mean that staying close to God's word -- living life in close proximity to the Word of God -- will keep us from wandering away and will restore us when we do stray

      -- the staff refers to the protection of the shepherd -- the staff was used to fight off wild dogs and other predators that might harass the sheep -- if we remain in the protection of the Good Shepherd, then we have nothing to fear, because His staff -- His presence -- will keep us safe

 

      -- verse 5

 

5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

 

      -- here we see a picture of a sheep rescued from the wilderness and living under the protection of the Shepherd -- even though enemies may encamp all around us -- even though we may be walking through the valley of the shadow of death -- God is with us -- protecting us and providing for us

      -- even here in this world, He prepares a table for us and anoints us with oil -- our cup overflows from His goodness and His mercy and His grace -- this overflowing cup points out to us that we have grace to offer to others

      -- years ago, I heard the comedian Louis C.K. say something in one of his shows that stuck with me -- he was talking about the difficulty in parenting his two young daughters and how they would always fight at breakfast -- one girl would look at the amount of cereal in her sister’s bowl and complain, “she has more cereal than me”

      -- he told them, “The only time you should be looking in someone else’s bowl is to make sure they have enough to eat”

 

      -- God provides all that we need in life -- He provides everything we need to the point that our cup overflows -- His grace is sufficient for us, and we need to take what the overflow of what He has given us and share His goodness and His grace with those around us who don’t have enough in their bowls because they are not living in relationship with the Shepherd

      -- we need to tell them the good news of the gospel -- we need to point the to the Savior and the Good Shepherd -- we need to tell them the way home -- so that they might come back and be with their Lord and Savior again

 

      -- verse 6

 

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

 

      -- and here we find ourselves back where we started -- God promises us that we will one day be at home with Him forever

      -- if you come to Jesus as your Lord and Savior -- if you trust Him not only to save you but also to take care of you and to provide for all your needs -- then you will find yourself at home with Him in heaven

 

IV.  Closing

      -- maybe some of you have strayed -- maybe some of you have wandered away from where you should be in your life with Christ -- maybe you've drifted far away and don't know if you can come back

      -- the message in this Psalm is quite clear -- you can come home again -- His grace and His voice are calling out to you this morning -- and if you just reach out and take hold of His hand, He will lead you back down the paths of righteousness and back into His fold once again

 

      -- as I was preparing this message, I thought about the life of Franklin Graham -- if there ever was anyone who believed in the fact that you can always come home again, it was Franklin Graham -- we know Franklin as the fiery preacher following in the footsteps of his father, Billy Graham -- we know him as the president of Samaritan's Purse -- but, before all that, Franklin was a prodigal son

      -- during his teenaged years, Franklin rebelled against church and against God and against his family -- in his book, "Rebel with a Cause," Franklin tells how he spent his teen years drinking and partying and wandering in far-away lands -- just like the son in the parable of the prodigal son

      -- Franklin left home physically and spiritually because he resented his father's ministry and he felt like God had taken his father from him -- for years, Franklin wandered about far from home -- but finally, just like the prodigal son -- just like a sheep that has wandered too far away from the fold -- he found himself hitting bottom -- he looked around and realized that he was lost -- that he had wandered away from the Good Shepherd

      -- when that happened, Franklin was in a hotel room and he opened up the drawer by the bed and found the Gideon Bible there -- he turned to the gospel of John -- and began reading again the good news of Jesus Christ -- and, as he read, he heard the voice of his Shepherd, calling out to him -- and at the age of 22, Franklin made a decision -- he turned around and headed home -- and he found that both God and his family were ready to take him back again -- just as this Psalm promises, you can always come home again for your Shepherd is waiting for you and looking for you

 

      -- maybe you’ve been where Franklin Graham was that night in the hotel -- maybe you’re there now -- but know this -- God is calling out to you -- His prevenient grace is reaching out for you -- and if you hear His voice this morning, don't turn away from Him, but turn around and come home

      -- maybe God has been speaking to you in a different way -- maybe you are in a relationship with God -- maybe everything is right in your spiritual life and you’re walking with Him and listening to His voice and following Him as He leads

      -- but maybe you know someone who has wandered away and is lost -- maybe God is calling for you to intercede for that person this morning -- maybe He is calling for you to go out and bring them back in -- to witness to them and share with them the good news of Christ that "you can always come home again"

      -- as our cups overflow with God’s grace and goodness and love, we can be His agents of grace in this world today -- sharing with them what God has given us and pointing them to the Good Shepherd who is waiting for them to come home

      -- regardless of what God is saying to you this morning, I would invite you to respond to His word as you feel led

      -- let us pray

 

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1 [“A cat named Mimi went missing in 2012. She just turned up at a shelter.” Praveena Somasundaram, The Washington Post, December 16, 2022]

Finding God in Nature

I ran across these thoughts from Dave Black on his blog site, and they really spoke to me:

 "Sir Francis Bacon, the 17th century philosopher, once said that God has not written one book but two. He said that the first is the book of his work, which we call nature. And the second is the book of his word, which we call Scripture.

"Thus God has given us in nature and Scripture a double revelation of himself -- a revelation of his glory ("the heavens declare the glory of God") and a revelation of his grace ("by grace are you saved").

"You won't find the way of salvation in nature. As I said, nature is a revelation of God's glory. Scripture is a revelation of his grace. And God intends for us to study both of his revelations, so that nature study and Bible study go hand in hand.

"God has hidden his thoughts, as it were, in both nature and Scripture, and as we read and study both we are able to "think God's thoughts after him" (Johannes Kempler)." -- Dave Black

I think it was God's revelation through nature that first appealed to me and was directly responsible for my path into studying wildlife biology. As I began my secular career, I quickly absorbed the lesson from Genesis that we are called to be stewards of God's resources, and I applied that principle to my approach at wildlife management. To this day, I believe that God calls out to us from nature, and that, for some of us, it is in nature that we most clearly hear His voice.

SERMON: FINDING THE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS AGAIN

Naylor Community Christian Church

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to 1 Timothy 3:14-16

 

14 Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these instructions so that, 15 if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth. 16 Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great:

 

He appeared in the flesh,

    was vindicated by the Spirit,

was seen by angels,

    was preached among the nations,

was believed on in the world,

    was taken up in glory.

 

            -- every year, it seems that I hear more and more people lamenting the demise of Christmas -- I saw several posts online this week asking if anyone noticed that there was less Christmas spirit this year -- that fewer people seemed happy and joyful during this Christmas season -- that fewer people seemed to really celebrate and enjoy Christmas this year

-- the responses were similar -- it’s not like it used to be, people say -- it doesn’t mean what it used to mean -- Christmas is just not the same -- it’s like it’s slowly going away

 

-- I noticed the same thing -- to me, it felt like Christmas was rushed -- almost forced on us because it was that time of the year -- not because anyone was excited to celebrate it -- it even felt like that in the stores -- they wanted us in there to spend our money, but even they weren’t really participating and trying to get people into the Christmas spirit

-- in the past, you’d walk into most stores and see Christmas trees on display -- Christmas music playing -- employees wearing Christmas decorations -- people calling out “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays” in a joyful manner -- but like most of these people on that Reddit post, I didn’t see that this year -- it’s like Christmas was an afterthought -- it’s like Christmas wasn’t really important anymore

-- like most of you, we were in the stores this year, but they weren’t decked out like in the past -- a lot of them didn’t have any Christmas decorations up -- no recognition at all of the holiday

 -- for instance, we all went out to a restaurant on Christmas Eve for an early supper -- and there were no decorations -- no Christmas music -- the staff and waitress didn’t mention Christmas at all -- it could have been any other day of the year -- you wouldn’t know that this was the day before Christmas based on how that restaurant looked and how the people there approached us

-- now while most of the responses to these posts about less Christmas spirit this year were about our traditional secular American Christmas celebrations, or the lack thereof, the same could be said about the slow demise of Christmas in our churches, too

-- it seems like even Christians have watched as Christmas slowly fades away from importance in our lives

 

-- it reminds me of something that happened in Russia in 2008 -- there was a 200-year-old Russian Orthodox Church building that had closed and gone unused for a decade -- well, the Russian Orthodox Church began to grow and their leaders thought it might be time to reopen that church building again to accommodate the increase in church-goers

-- so, they went to the church building location to see what it would take to reopen it, and the building was gone -- it just wasn’t there -- it’s like it had vanished -- the landscaping around the building hadn’t been disturbed -- the drive and the parking lots were still there -- it was just like someone had just evaporated the facility, leaving no trace

-- so, they started investigating what had happened to their church -- turns out, the building hadn’t been demolished by the Government or anyone else -- it hadn’t been destroyed in a single moment

            -- instead, villagers from a nearby town had started removing the individual bricks to sell on the black market to a local businessman -- they’d take a brick here and a brick there -- a couple more the next day -- getting paid only about 4 cents for each one

            -- and, slowly, over time, the entire building disappeared -- not from being demolished in a single stroke -- but from neglect and from disuse -- because people forgot the reason why the building was there in the first place [Source: "Russian Orthodox church stolen: brick by brick," Associated Press, (11-13-08)]

 

            -- that’s what’s been going on with Christmas -- over the last few decades, the celebration of Christmas and the sharing of the true meaning of Christmas have begun slowing slipping away -- we’ve seen it in our churches -- we’ve seen it in our culture and our society

-- over time, we’ve let Christmas slip away in our lives -- just a little less celebrating -- a little more commercialization -- and the true celebration and meaning of Christmas has slowly faded away

-- so, as we’re still in the middle of the true Christmas season -- this is the eighth day of Christmas, by the way, if you’re keeping count at home -- if you haven’t gotten your true love’s gift yet, it’s supposed to be eight maids a milking -- so, get on that

-- but this morning, as we’re still in the middle of the Christmas season, we’re going to look at a passage here from Paul’s first epistle to Timothy that seldom gets read at Christmas, but that reminds us of what Christmas is all about

-- because Christmas isn’t about Santa or presents -- about lights or decorations or trees in our homes -- Christmas is a celebration of the incarnation of God as a baby born in a manger who came to save us from our sins

 

II.  Scripture Lesson (1 Timothy 3:14-16)

-- with that said, let’s look again at this passage from 1 Timothy 3:14-16 -- while you are finding your place there, let me share with you the context of this passage -- Timothy was one of Paul’s proteges -- he was a gifted young pastor, and Paul had charged him with overseeing the church at Ephesus, the community of faith that you could argue was Paul’s dearest community

-- Paul spent more time in Ephesus than any other location -- and the people there were close to his heart -- and now he has put Timothy in charge of stewarding God’s church in that place -- at keeping them growing and maturing in their faith

-- Paul wrote two letters to Timothy -- 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy -- to give him advice and counsel as he sought to lead this congregation

-- in this letter, Paul gave instructions to Timothy on how worship and fellowship were to be conducted in the church -- and how to identify people called by God to assist in the leadership of the growing congregation

-- and he sums up the reason for his counsel here in these verses as he reminds Timothy of the reason the church exists in the first place

 

-- so, join me now in 1 Timothy 3:14, and let’s see what we can learn about finding the meaning of Christmas again in our lives and in our church -- verse 14-15

 

14 Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these instructions so that, 15 if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.

 

-- there’s a lot to unpack in these two verses, so let’s get started

-- the first thing we note is that Paul tells Timothy that he hopes to come see him soon -- but in case he gets delayed, he wants to go ahead and send instructions on how the people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household -- that tells you how important the instructions and the truths in these verses are -- Paul couldn’t wait for a visit to share them, because he knew the people needed them now -- just like we need them now

 

-- Paul’s urgency in this is a reminder to us that the church is not like the world and cannot be managed the way the world manages its affairs -- we are called to be different -- to do things differently -- because we are God’s people in God’s kingdom -- not the people of this world any longer

-- for that reason, our conduct and the management of our church should reflect Christ -- we should be Spirit-led and unified as one under Christ -- following His example and ministering to others in His name and His power

-- too many churches and too many Christians have forgotten this lately -- we see a lot of churches and a lot of denominations being run as secular businesses -- not as the household of God -- and this can account for a lot of the falling away and loss of spirituality that we see in America today

-- we have to remember that we are God’s people -- that this is God’s household -- that we are His church and the dwelling place of His Spirit -- we are not like this world and we should not act like this world

            -- Paul makes that clear when he talks about the conduct of the people in God’s household -- the Greek term for conduct refers to more than just our actions -- more than what we do on the outside

-- it refers to our character and our relationships with God and with others -- you can have right outward actions but be far from God on the inside -- similarly, you can be saved but not living out your faith -- Paul’s intent here is to outline instructions on who we should be as Christians living out our faith in a community of believers

            -- our conduct in God’s household extends beyond the walls of any building we meet in -- it extends beyond the time we gather together for corporate worship and edification -- our conduct should be the same wherever and whenever we are because we are in God’s household and His kingdom at all times -- we should not act one way at work or one way at the store or one way on social media and act an entirely different way when we gather as God’s household and church -- our character and our conduct should be above reproach at all times

 

-- when Paul speaks of God’s household, he is referring to the church of the living God -- in the early church, there were no buildings or established meeting places -- God’s household -- the house of God -- were the people who belonged to the community of faith in that place

            -- so, when the Bible talks about the church or the house of God, it is not referring to a place -- it is referring to the people who are in relationship with one another and with Christ -- the church exists whether there is a building for them to meet in or not

-- we emphasize this point in the Kairos prison ministry -- those men and women who are incarcerated don’t have a church building, but we remind them that they are still the church of God, none-the-less -- we remind them that God’s church isn’t bound by walls, but lives in the heart of the people -- and by the end of the Kairos weekend, when we ask the question, “Who is the church?” and all the residents in that prison cry out, “We are -- we are the church” -- oh, how I wish that all of us could remember and live that out -- that’s what Paul is teaching Timothy here -- it’s not about buildings -- the church is about Christ and our relationship with Him and each other -- we are the church, no matter where we are or where we gather

 

            -- I’ve got to move on, because I haven’t even got to the main verse yet -- Paul tells Timothy that God’s household is the church of the living God -- emphasizing “living” because God’s church stood in stark contrast to the enormous temples the Ephesians had built to their dead idols, including their famed temple to Artemis or Diana

-- Paul is pointing out to Timothy that we do not worship manmade idols of stone, but the living God -- the Creator of Heaven and Earth -- our Savior and our Redeemer -- who was and who is and who will be forever and ever -- amen and amen

-- our church, Paul says, is built with the pillars of God on His foundation, but it is not built like those of the pagans -- we don’t need marble pillars and rock foundations to build monuments to dead gods -- our pillars are the people of God and our foundation is the truth of the gospel -- the message of Christmas

-- Jesus has come as God in the flesh to die for our sins on the cross and to rise from the dead on the third day to prove victory over sin and death -- Jesus has come to restore justice to this world -- to make things right again -- to remove the curse that was placed on the earth when Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden -- that is our foundation -- and you are the pillars that hold up the house of God and share that message with the world

 

-- vs. 16

 

16 Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great:

 

He appeared in the flesh,

    was vindicated by the Spirit,

was seen by angels,

    was preached among the nations,

was believed on in the world,

    was taken up in glory.

 

- this is our key verse for today -- in this verse, Paul expands on the incarnation of Christ that we are supposed to be remembering and celebrating at Christmas -- this is the mystery of our faith -- that God became man and dwelt with us as our Immanuel

-- beyond all question, Paul writes -- most certainly -- without a doubt -- this is the foundation of our faith -- this is the foundational fact that defines us as believers and as the house of God

-- Paul is asserting here that these truths cannot be disputed or disagreed with -- to be a believer is to build on this foundation and no other -- in God’s church, there are things that we disagree about -- differences in understanding or interpretation about worship or liturgy or the structure of the church -- these are inconsequential -- matters of theology or practice that don’t affect our salvation  

-- but what Paul is talking about here in verse 16 matters -- it is beyond all question -- you must believe in this -- you must know this and put your faith in these -- because this is the foundation on which all Christianity stands -- this is the truth of God’s word and of who Christ is -- this is the reason Christmas is important

 

-- Paul describes these truths as a mystery -- in the Bible, the term mystery refers to something that has been hidden by God but is now being revealed -- it is God’s truth, revealed at the right time and for His right purposes -- He reveals to us the truth that we might believe in it and act on it and live based on it

-- there are six mysteries mentioned in the New Testament, and here in this passage, Paul speaks about one of them -- the mystery of true godliness -- in other words, how does a person become godly?

            -- the mystery of godliness that has been revealed by God is that godliness and righteousness is not found through the Law -- it’s not found by doing good works -- it’s not found in what we do -- true godliness is only found in Who you know -- true godliness is only found in the person of Jesus Christ

-- in our series on Pursuing Holiness through the fruits of the Spirit, we emphasized that expressing these characteristics of love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, and self-control weren’t things we could do on our own -- they came through surrender to the Holy Spirit within us and by letting His character and nature transform our own

-- Paul’s point here is that we are made godly and holy and righteous through the incarnation of God in the flesh -- God first came to us as a baby born in a manger -- God with us -- Immanuel -- but the incarnation did not end when Christ ascended

-- it continues through the presence of God in us through the person of the Holy Spirit -- and we experience the incarnation of Christ in His church -- the household of God -- as Christ moves within His people to call the world to redemption and salvation and as we minister to others in His name -- serving as His hands and feet so that they might see God with them as He is with us -- that is the mystery of godliness

            -- so, the mystery of godliness is a person, not performance or good works -- the mystery of godliness is a relationship, not religion -- the mystery of Christmas is not about trees and presents -- it’s about standing on the foundation of Christ and letting Him transform us into the people He has called us to be and doing what He has called us to do

 

            -- in the closing to verse 16, Paul goes on to give us six statements of faith that build on the foundation of God’s truth and that lead us into living out the mystery of godliness in our lives

-- these verses are recognized as an early hymn or creed of the church that was recited or sung to emphasize our foundational beliefs about who Christ is and why He came -- this was one of the first Christmas hymns

            -- notice that it begins and ends with Jesus -- with God Himself coming to earth at Christmas and with Jesus’ ascension into Heaven following the resurrection

 

            -- I know I’m going long, but let’s look at each of these six statements separately:

 

-- the first: He appeared in a body -- He appeared in the flesh -- this is referring to the incarnation

-- as we talked about last week, Christmas is more than just giving presents or celebrating a baby in a manger -- it is recognizing that the child in the manger is God Himself -- Christ incarnate -- God in the flesh -- fully man and fully God -- who was born of Mary and of the Spirit to be our Savior and Redeemer since we could not save ourselves from our sins

 

            -- the next: He was vindicated by the Spirit or He was vindicated in His spirit

-- to be vindicated means that He was shown or proven to be right, reasonable, or justified

-- several times in the gospel, the Spirit confirms that Jesus was more than a man -- that He was the God-man -- at His baptism by John in the Jordan River, the Spirit descended on Jesus like a dove and the voice of God spoke, affirming that this was His Son -- at the Transfiguration, when Jesus appeared in His glorified form to Peter and James and John, God spoke in the cloud that enveloped them and, once again, affirmed that this was His Son

            -- Jesus was proven to be the Messiah through the miracles -- through His teaching -- and through His life -- He is the only one to live a sinless life, and when He was brought before the Pharisees and the Sanhedrin, no one could point to Him doing anything wrong except claiming to be God, which was true

            -- His prayers in the Garden and the surrendering of His will for the Father’s is evidence of His holiness and deity -- His words from the cross of forgiveness and mercy, even as He was being crucified for no crime of His own -- all are vindication of who He was -- that He was Immanuel -- God with us -- God in the flesh

 

-- third, He was seen by angels -- we could say He was attended to by angels -- watched over by angels -- served by angels

-- before He was born, angels appeared to both Mary and Joseph to share with them the news of Mary’s pregnancy through the Spirit -- at His birth, the angels appeared to the shepherds, proclaiming the birth of the Messiah and sharing with them the good news of great joy that was for all the people

-- after His baptism and temptation in the desert wilderness, He was attended to by angels -- in the Garden of Gethsemane, angels came and ministered to Him as He prayed before His arrest and crucifixion -- after the resurrection, angels were at the tomb to announce He had risen and to share the good news to His disciples

 

            -- fourth: He was preached among the nations -- this began as Christ sent His disciples out to share the good news of the coming of the Kingdom of God during His earthly ministry and continued as Christ commanded His followers in Matthew 28:18-20 to “go and make disciples of all nations”

-- it continued as the church grew beyond Jerusalem and missionaries went out into all of Israel and Samaria and beyond -- with the name of Christ being preached by men and women, such as Paul and Barnabas -- Lydia -- Apollos -- Priscilla and Aquilla -- Peter and John -- and others down through the ages

 

-- fifth: He was believed on in the world

-- we are the living proof of this sign -- we are here as those who believed in the message of Christ and who received Him as our Lord and Savior, fulfilling the promise of John 3:16

-- we see this truth lived out today in the hearts of those who hear His word and put their faith and trust in Him -- we see it in countries locked in the grip of false religions hostile to the gospel, as men and women are turning to Christ in vast numbers -- we see it at Christmas, as the truth of His coming is proclaimed by all and the name of Jesus is on everyone’s lips

-- as we consider this statement of faith, we have to remember what the angels told the shepherds in the field on the night Christ was born -- the angel said, “I bring you good news of great joy for all the people” -- “for all the people” -- not just for the Israelites, who were known as God’s chosen people -- but “all” the people -- not just Jews, but people like us -- Gentiles who were far from the faith and knowledge of God -- people who were called to hear the good news and believe in the name of God’s one and only Son -- so that we might become the very sons and daughters of God, as we read in John 1:12, “but to all who received and accepted Him, He gave the right to become children of God”

-- because of Jesus and the coming of God in the flesh to our world at Christmas, all of us -- Jews and Gentiles alike -- are called to believe in His name and to repent of our sins and receive forgiveness and healing and eternal life in Him -- to believe and become the children of God through faith in Christ

 

            -- and, finally, He was taken up in glory -- this is a reference to the ascension of Jesus as witnessed by the disciples in Acts 1 when Jesus bodily rose up through the clouds to enter into Heaven, where the Bible tells us He sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty

            -- because of the ascension of Christ, the Holy Spirit was sent at Pentecost to indwell the believers and empower the church -- because Jesus has gone to the Father, the Spirit has come to live with us and in us -- fulfilling the promise of Jesus to never leave us or forsake us

            -- and as our ascended and risen Savior, Jesus continues to minister to us from Heaven -- interceding for us with the Father -- praying for us and strengthening us through His very own Spirit -- praying for our strength and defending us from the accusations of the enemy

            -- and, finally, as we consider the first coming of Christ and His first ascension into Heaven, we must remember the promise we have in Acts 1:10-11 from the lips of the angels, that Jesus would return in the same way He left -- that in the fullness of time, He would return, establishing His kingdom on earth and living with us as our Immanuel -- as our God and King -- forever and ever, Amen

 

III.  Closing

            -- this is the message of Christmas -- this is what our world has been slowly losing over the past several decades -- and this is what we must remember as the household of God -- as God’s holy church -- this is the truth that is our foundation, and as the pillars of God in His household, we are called to stand on these truths and go forth and proclaim the good news of great joy that is for all the people of this world

            -- this passage reminds us that Christmas is not about Santa Claus or presents under a tree -- it’s not about shopping or drinking eggnog or any of our secular traditions or even about the nebulous Christmas spirit we all agree is becoming less and less each year

-- no, Christmas is about the greatest gift of all -- God coming to earth as a baby -- to live with us as our Immanuel -- to show us the way to God and how to live in relationship with God the Father and those around us -- it’s about Jesus going to the cross to die in our place as our atoning sacrifice for our sins -- it’s about the empty tomb and our Savior who is seated at the right hand of God the Father in heaven

            -- this is the true message of Christmas -- this is the mystery that was revealed to us through the manger and the cross and the empty tomb -- this is the mystery and meaning of Christmas -- and we must make sure we share this good news with all the people, so that they will find the true Spirit and saving grace of Jesus at Christmas once again

            -- let us pray

SERMON: EMMANUEL (IMMANUEL) -- GOD WITH US

 

Naylor Community Christian Church

I.  Introduction

-- turn in Bibles to Matthew 1:18-25

 

18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

 

20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

 

22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

 

24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

 

            -- the story is told of a mother who walked into her living room to find her young daughter lying on the floor and intently drawing on a blank sheet of paper -- she asked her what she was doing -- “I’m drawing a picture of God,” the girl replied -- “That’s nice,” the mother said, “but no one knows what God looks like.” -- the girl said, “They will in a minute.”

 

            -- how nice would it be to be able to see our God in person? -- a few weeks ago, we talked about this when we were discussing idols -- one of the reasons why we are so prone to create idols in our lives is because we worship a God that we cannot see and cannot touch and cannot feel -- we relate to Him in faith -- trusting in Him and experiencing Him through His word and through His presence in us and through us -- but there is still a longing in our heart to see Him -- to know Him -- to touch Him as we can others that we love, like our family and our friends

            -- how wonderful would it be to walk with God as Adam did? -- to see Him with our eyes? -- to hear His voice with our ears? -- to reach out and take His hand in ours? -- to know Him and to know that He is truly with us forever?

 

            -- as all of you know, today is Christmas -- the day that we celebrate the birth of Jesus -- the day we celebrate God becoming a man and living with us so that we might come to know Him in a new way and so that He might save us from our sins and bring us to live with Him for eternity

            -- there are only two places in the Bible where we read about the birth of Jesus -- there is, of course, the familiar passage from Luke 2, where we read of Jesus being born in a stable and laid in a manger because there was no room for Mary and Joseph in the inn -- it’s in this same passage that we read of the angels appearing to the shepherds in the fields outside Bethlehem and telling them of the good news of great joy that has come to them on that first Christmas night -- many believe that Luke received this story from Mary herself, and so we hear of the birth of Jesus from her perspective

            -- the second place where we read about the birth of Jesus is here in Matthew Chapter 1, where Matthew tells us of the coming of Jesus through the eyes of his earthly father, Joseph -- this story doesn’t get told as much during the Advent and Christmas seasons, so I wanted us to spend some time in this story this morning, paying particular attention to what the angel tells Joseph about the name of the Son that Mary is to bear

            -- so, if you would, look back with me at Matthew 1, starting in verse 18

 

II.  Scripture Lesson (Matthew 1:18-25)

            -- verse 18-19

 

18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

 

            -- so, as Matthew opens the story of how the birth of Jesus came to be, he tells us that Joseph was engaged to be married to a young woman named Mary -- Mary, as you recall, had been visited by the angel Gabriel, who told her that she had been chosen to bear the Son of God and that she would become pregnant through the Spirit even though she was a virgin

            -- as this passage in Matthew opens, evidently Mary has shared the message from Gabriel with Joseph and had broken the news to him that she was currently pregnant -- you can imagine how Joseph received this news -- it’s one thing to hear the message that an angel had visited your fiancé and she that she was now pregnant through the Holy Spirit -- and it’s another thing to actually believe it -- there had never been an instance in all the history of mankind where a virgin had gotten pregnant, so you can understand Joseph’s doubts about Mary’s story of how she came to be pregnant

            -- Matthew tells us that Joseph was a righteous man and did not want to make a spectacle out of Mary’s condition, so he decided the best thing to do was to quietly divorce her

            -- now the idea of divorcing someone you are engaged to seems strange to our modern ears, but it makes sense if you know something about the Jewish marriage procedures in that day -- when someone was going to get married in that time, there were three steps that were followed:

            -- first, there was the engagement -- this was the decision that the two people were to be married -- this was often decided by the parents when the couple were still children as a type of arranged marriage -- often to join families together for wealth or power or for other cultural reasons

            -- following the engagement, there was the betrothal -- you might call this the ratification of the engagement -- at this point, either the parents or the engaged couple could call off the wedding -- but once they were betrothed, the relationship became absolutely binding -- the betrothal lasted for one year, and during that year the couple were known as man and wife, although they did not have the rights of a man and wife and did not live together or have relations with one another -- the only was for a betrothal to be terminated was by divorce

            -- this was the stage Joseph and Mary were in their relationship -- they were betrothed, and if Joseph wished to end the relationship, he could only do so by divorcing Mary

            -- the third stage of the Jewish marriage ritual was the actual wedding, which took place at the end of the year of betrothal

 

            -- so, here’s Joseph -- he is betrothed to marry Mary, and she comes along and tells him, “Oh, by the way, an angel came to see me and said I was highly favored of God and now I’m pregnant with God’s Son” -- and after hearing that, Joseph reached the decision that it was time to divorce her and move on with his life -- a very reasonable plan of action

            -- but sometimes God gets involved in our plans and takes them in a whole other direction

 

            -- verse 20-23

 

20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

 

22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

 

 

            -- just like his namesake from the Old Testament, Joseph had a dream that would change his life -- in his dream, an angel of the Lord appeared to him -- presumably, this was Gabriel, the same angel that had appeared to Mary -- but the Bible doesn’t give this angel a name -- it’s just a guess on our part

            -- this angel appears to Joseph and verifies everything that Mary had told him -- he tells Joseph that, yes, Mary was pregnant through the Spirit, and would have a son, who was to be named Jesus, because He would save His people from their sins

            -- as a righteous and faithful Jew, Joseph would have understood that the angel was telling him that Mary’s son was the long-awaited Messiah -- the Savior of the Jews -- the King who was to come

            -- He was to be called Jesus, because He would save the people from their sins -- Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Yeshua or Joshua -- Yeshua literally means “The Lord Saves” -- and His name speaks of why the Messiah was coming to earth in the form of Mary’s baby -- He was coming to save us from our sins and to lead us into eternal life with Him

           

            -- the angel goes on to tell Joseph that the birth of Jesus by Mary was in fulfillment of prophecy -- this was a reference to a prophecy that had been given by Isaiah back in the Old Testament

-- in Isaiah Chapter 7, we read that the nation of Judah was being threatened by two northern nations -- Israel and Syria -- and Ahaz, the king of Judah, feared for his country -- Ahaz and all the people of Judah cried out to the Lord for deliverance and protection, so God gave Isaiah a prophecy for the nation that would be a sign to them that He was with them and would protect them

-- let me read Isaiah 7:14-16 to you right now

 

14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. 15 He will be eating curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, 16 for before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.

 

-- this prophecy had an immediate fulfillment in the days of Isaiah -- as the promise from God stated, a young girl would have a child, and before this child was grown, the nations that were threatening Judah would be destroyed

-- this prophecy was fulfilled when Isaiah married a young woman in Judah, who bore him a son and who was still a young child -- too young to know right from wrong -- when the nations of Israel and Syria were conquered by the Assyrians and were no longer a threat to Judah

-- the sign that God promised Ahaz and Judah had come to pass and the promise was fulfilled

 

-- but we learn in the rest of the book of Isaiah and through the message of the angel to Joseph here in Matthew that this prophecy from Isaiah 7:14 of a coming child that would be born to a virgin also pointed to the coming Messiah and the promise that the Jewish people would ultimately be saved forever through this child, who would be their anointed deliverer and redeemer

            -- we see more of the prophecy of a child who would be the Messiah revealed a couple of chapters later in Isaiah 9:6-7, as we read the familiar passage:

 

“For unto us a Child is born,

Unto us a Son is given;

And the government will be upon His shoulder.

And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of His government and peace

There will be no end,

Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,

To order it and establish it with judgment and justice

From that time forward, even forever.

The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this”

 

            -- all Israel knew this prophecy -- they knew the promise of God that a Messiah would come who would redeem His people and deliver them from their enemies

-- this child of Mary, the angel tells Joseph, is that Messiah -- He will be the One through whom the Lord saves His people -- He will be known as Immanuel -- for He is to be fully God and fully man -- God with us in the flesh of Mary’s baby boy

            -- which brings us back to our opening illustration of the little girl drawing a picture of God and our desire to see Him with our own eyes

            -- Jesus was given to us for many reasons -- to save us from our sins -- to redeem us from the power of sin and death -- but the main reason Jesus came was so that we might know the Father and that we might see the Father -- Jesus came so that we might know that God was with us

 

            -- in John 14, Jesus is speaking to His disciples in the upper room on the night that He was betrayed -- He’s trying to get them to understand who He is and why He came and where He is going

            -- at one point, Philip says, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us” -- to which Jesus replies in John 14:9, “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father.”

            -- what Jesus told Philip that night is the same thing that the angel told Joseph in his dream -- to see Jesus is to see God, because Jesus is God -- He is Immanuel -- God with us

 

            -- D.A. Carson puts it this way: “Do you want to know what the character of God is like? Study Jesus. -- Do you want to know what the holiness of God is like? Study Jesus. -- Do you want to know what the wrath of God is like? Study Jesus. -- Do you want to know what the forgiveness of God is like? -- Study Jesus. Do you want to know what the glory of God is like? Study Jesus all the way to that wretched cross. Study Jesus.” -- for He is God with us -- He is Immanuel

 

            -- as William Barclay wrote in his commentary: “Jesus is the one person who can tell us what God is like, and what God means us to be. -- In him alone, we see what God is and what man ought to be.

-- “Before Jesus came men had only vague and shadowy, and often quite wrong, ideas about God; [at best] they could only guess and grope [at who God was] -- but Jesus could say, "He who has seen me has seen the Father" (John 14:9).

-- “In Jesus we see the love, the compassion, the mercy, the seeking heart, the purity of God, as nowhere else in all this world -- With the coming of Jesus, the time of guessing is gone, and the time of certainty is come.

-- “Before Jesus came, men did not really know what goodness was. In Jesus alone we see true manhood, true goodness, true obedience to the will of God. Jesus came to tell us the truth about God and the truth about ourselves.”

 

-- when you think of what the angel told Joseph -- that this young virgin girl would have a son -- and that this son would be the Messiah -- God Himself wrapped in human flesh -- God with us -- God one of us -- I am reminded of a story that explains why Jesus would humble Himself and lay aside the rights of His deity to come to earth to be with us in this way

-- in the 1700s, a Moravian missionary once went to the West Indies to preach to the slaves -- but he found it impossible to reach them in his position as a white missionary -- the slaves were driven into the field very early in the morning, and returned late at night with scarcely strength to roll themselves into their cabins, and in no condition to spend time listening to his preaching and with no hope of being moved by his message -- additionally, because of their condition and state, they were set against anyone who was like their masters, including the missionary

-- so, the missionary decided he would follow the Apostle Paul’s words from 1 Corinthians 9:22, “I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means, I might save some” -- the missionary surrendered himself to slavery and became a slave in that place, so that he might have the privilege of working by their side -- and while he toiled and worked with them -- as one of them -- he preached to them and shared with them the good news of Jesus Christ

-- no one else could reach the slaves with the message of Christ except for the one who became one of them -- who placed himself in their condition, and went among them, and lived as they lived -- suffered as they suffered -- toiled as they toiled -- so that he might carry the gospel to them

-- This missionary followed the example of the Lord Jesus Christ, who took on Him the nature of men on Christmas Day -- who came to live among us -- to live as we live -- so that He might save us from our sins -- so that we might know Him as our Immanuel -- God with us [modified from Beecher, as cited in The Biblical Illustrator, https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/tbi/matthew-1.html]

 

            -- look back at verse 24 here in Matthew 1, and let’s finish our thoughts

 

24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

 

            -- when Joseph woke up from his dream, the words of the angel continued to run through his mind -- he knew the word of God when he heard it -- and being a righteous man, Joseph did what God told him to do

            -- even though it went against his human nature -- even though it went against what his culture would tell him to do -- even though it meant going against the advice of his family and friends -- Joseph chose to follow God

            -- he took her home to be his wife -- and we all know the story -- after traveling to Bethlehem to fulfill the commands of the Romans for the census, Mary gave birth to Jesus in a manger and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes -- and they called Him Jesus and the world came to know Him as our Immanuel -- God with us

 

III.  Closing

-- Florence, Italy is known for its unparalleled collection of Renaissance art, and by far the most famous item on display is Michelangelo’s sculpture of David -- the massive five-meter marble statue is located in the Accademia Museum which requires a paid ticket to enter -- many tourists purchase their tickets in advance, not realizing there is an exact duplicate of Michelangelo’s David which can be viewed for free.

-- When Michelangelo completed the statue in 1504, it was erected outside in the city center, the Piazza del Duomo, where it stood for 400 years. In 1910, however, the decision was made to move the sculpture inside to protect it from the weather, pigeons, and vandals. An exact replica is now in the piazza where the original once stood and can be seen by anyone without cost.

-- writing about this, Skye Jethani pointed out that many people have gotten the idea that like Michelangelo’s David, God must be difficult to see and costly to encounter -- but that is the reason Jesus came -- that is the great reality of Jesus’ advent and the incarnation of Mary and Joseph’s baby

-- God was not hiding -- He did not want to be separated from His people -- but despite the many messengers He sent -- despite the prophets and the priests -- the kings and the miracles -- the people refused to come near and see Him and know Him

-- their eyes remained closed to the very presence of God -- so God sent His one and only Son to us -- to be born as a baby in a manger -- to become one of us so that we might come to know Him as our Immanuel -- to see God and to know God -- and to finally understood who God is and what He is like -- so that we might be delivered from our sins and saved for eternal life in Him

-- that is the message of Christmas -- Immanuel -- God with us always and forever

-- let us pray