#3 Jesus’ Identity Revealed Series

So, what should you do with these doctrines this morning?

• First, they should compel you to run to Jesus for salvation.

Jesus, the almighty Son of God, became the humble Son of Man by laying aside all His heavenly privilege to come to this earth and become a man. [8] But not just so he could be like us, or be with us, to be an example for us, or show us the way to live, or how to face death valiantly. He came with one premier purpose above all others: to be a qualified candidate, the only candidate possible in this fallen world, to die for your sins.

Your sins have separated you from God. The only answer is the Son of God who became the Son of man so that He could die for your sins to pay that penalty in your place.

A pastor’s family had started putting up a nativity scene in their front yard. All of them were carrying out the little statues to put in the nativity scene. Finally, everything was in place—Mary & Joseph and the manger and the baby and the angels and the shepherds and all the barnyard animals.

Then little Scott came out carrying one of his favorite toys—the figure of the fierce Tyrannosaurus Rex, king of the dinosaurs! It was one of those plastic figures that you inflate, and, in comparison to the other figures, it was an enormous thing, towering over them all, and certainly not something to have in a nativity scene.

The Dad said, “I tried to tell him, ‘Scott, you have to take that back because it doesn’t belong there. Dinosaurs existed many years before the baby Jesus, and it just doesn’t belong in a nativity scene.’”

But little Scott insisted—so they finally put it there behind all the other figures—a fierce dinosaur hovering over the manger and everything else.

Then he said, “As we stood back and looked at it, we realized that maybe that dinosaur says more than we realized. For over each of us there is this menacing character that threatens to rob us of all our joy and peace and cheer. It’s a three-letter word called sin. And God has given us the victory through the gift of His Son.”

Dear friend, do not leave here today without turning to Jesus and trusting in Him. You can defeat that monster, sin, and the threat of God’s eternal judgment! On the back table are some Next Step cards. Fill one out and drop it in the tin box on that table and I’ll contact you and we can talk this week and get this matter settled once-and-for-all!

• I have a personal application for us who already are saved: O Come Let Us Adore Him!

The truth of the incarnation should overwhelm you with a heart of awe and wonder, resulting in praise and worship. This Christmas, do something different: Pause each day to remind yourself the “reason for the season,” which is that the Son of God came to earth to become the Son of Man to live a perfect life to pay your sin’s debt.

May this truth not only fill you with worship, but with a deeper commitment to Christ. Someone so wise, so wonderful, so compassionate, so loving as God to provide such an amazing way of salvation is worthy of not just our praise, but our very lives.