Intro>On the day after Christmas at a church in San Francisco, the pastor was looking over the nativity scene in the church lobby and noticed that baby Jesus was missing from among its figures. He hurried outside and saw a little boy with a red wagon, and in the red wagon was the figure of the little infant Jesus. So he walked up to the boy and said, “Well, where did you get your passenger, my friend?” The little boy replied, “I got Him at church.” Pastor: “Why did you take Him?” The boy looked up at the pastor and said, “Well, about a week before Christmas I prayed to the little Lord Jesus and told Him if He would bring me a red wagon for Christmas I would give Him a ride around the block in it.”
Hmmm.
It’s always enlightening to see how children have a different way of seeing things than we do. Especially at Christmas time.
---ILL>Probably the greatest example of that is the story of “The Greatest Christmas Pageant,” Barbara Robinson’s story of a church Christmas pageant that took a definite twist one year when the Herdman children got involved. The Herdman children were not frequent attendees at church. In fact, they had only started coming on Sundays a month before the pageant, when the older Herdman boy overheard some kids at school talking about free food being served at Sunday School. So he brought his brothers and sisters to check it out. While there he heard about the pageant and rehearsals that were beginning. The Herdman kids, let’s just say they were mean. They were tough, street-wise kids who had never heard the Christmas story. But they ended up getting all the main roles in the pageant because the other kids were afraid to even audition if the Herdmans were also trying out for the roles. LeRoy Herdman, deemed a “slow” child was given the part of the innkeeper so he would have to deliver one line: “I’m sorry, we have no room.” He had trouble with it all through the rehearsals, but on the night of the pageant lots of things changed. For LeRoy it ceased being a play...it was real in his mind. The characters playing Joseph and Mary ceased being his brother and sister, and became really Joseph and Mary, a carpenter and his young and very pregnant wife showing up at LeRoy’s “real” inn, needing a room. LeRoy truly felt sorry for them and wanted to help them. So, when it came time to deliver his one line he said it right: “I’m sorry, we have no room.” But then he inserted his own ad-libbed line: “but you can stay in MY room.” -- Well, many in the audience thought LeRoy had ruined the play. He had missed the point. And, besides, now where were the kids dressed up as sheep supposed to go? And the shepherds? And the manger? Others, however, considered this the greatest Christmas pageant ever because LeRoy understood how important Jesus really is.
<>Well, we know the real story tells us there was no room in the inn, and Joseph and Mary ended up in an adjacent stable.
<>But the question for today is this: Why is it that 2,000 years after the innkeeper’s story many still don’t have room for Jesus?
*I invite you to open a Bible and turn to Revelation, chapter two.
--Yes, Revelation. We’ve already read the account of the innkeeper in Luke, but I invite you to look at some verses that help us to understand the problem of NO ROOM.
->While you’re turning, let’s acknowledge that over the years the innkeeper has been given a bad rap because he didn’t make room for Joseph.
->However, to be fair, we must take into consideration three things about the innkeeper’s involvement:
--1) The innkeeper had no reason to anticipate a visit from the prospective Christ child.
----In fact, had he known the significance of the couple knocking at his door, maybe the outcome would have been different.
--2) The census overfilled ALL the inns...all the businesses in Bethlehem, not just this innkeeper’s.
----We don’t know how many other inns turned Joseph and Mary away that night.
----At least this innkeeper made available a stable for them.
--3) The stable was actually much more conducive to their needs that night.
----God the Father saw to it that their needs were met, that Mary had privacy to give birth, and the shepherds could come and see the baby without any interference or obstruction.
<>But we have no such excuse.
----We know Who He is, we have every reason to make room for Jesus.
----And yet, many times we don’t give Him the room He deserves.
<>Today I want us to examine...
THE FOUR BIGGEST REASONS PEOPLE DON’T GIVE JESUS THE PRIORITY, THE “ROOM” HE DESERVES IN THEIR LIVES:
1) COMPARTMENTALIZING.
--Rev.2:4 -- “But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.”
--Rom.12:2 -- “...do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is...”
<>This concept has become “vogue” in recent years, a concept that expresses the erroneous idea that each area of our lives somehow exist completely independently from any other area.
<>It has emerged as part of the post-modernist movement ushered in in the turbulent sixties.
--Post-modernist thinking has also brought the wrong ideas that:
----Everything is considered “spiritual,” but nothing is considered absolute.
----Every viewpoint is considered equal, and no values are considered universal.
<>But the most dangerous post-modern contribution has been humanism, a belief that the power of the human individual is the supreme truth and reality.
--The idea in humanism is that you are in charge of your own life...completely...just you.
----Therefore, God isn’t supposed to “interfere” with any part of your life other than the “spiritual” areas you might allow Him.
----So, there’s no room, no right of Jesus to be involved in your finances, your sex life, your marriage, who your friends are, your voting record, and should have no real say in your life beyond Sunday mornings.
---Quote: Shirley MacLaine has expressed it quite succinctly: She says, “The most pleasurable journey you take is through yourself...the only sustaining love involvement is with yourself. When you look back on your life and try to figure out where you’ve been and where you’re going, when you look at your work, your love affairs, your marriages, your children, your pain, your happiness...when you examine all that closely, what you really find out is that the only person you really go to bed with is yourself. The only thing you have is working to the consummation of your own identity. And that’s what I’ve been trying to do all my life.”
---Quote: In contrast, philosopher Blaise Paschal has stated, “It is vain, O men, that our seek within yourselves the cure for your miseries. All your insight only leads you to the knowledge that it is not in yourselves that you will discover the true and the good.”
---ILL>Remember what it was like when your first fell in love? You wanted to spend every waking moment with her or him. You wanted to know everything about her or him, you talked about everything, shared everything. You couldn’t imagine any other flesh and blood person being more important in your life than that person.
<>You see, that’s where God wants us to be and stay in our relationship with Him....totally devoted, completely surrendered.
<>However, many persons, though once saved, have left their first love, and have relegated Jesus to some hidden room, some back closet, some outside stable in their lives.
-->Look at Revelation 2:4 -- “But this I have against you, that you have left your first love.”
<>As believers our first love must be our love of Jesus.
---Not our love of our self, and certainly not believing that Jesus should only be “let out of the closet” on Sunday mornings.
<>So many have bought into this bogus notion of compartmentalizing our lives, that it is tragically true that there is no real difference in the divorce rate of born again believers as compared to the secular world. And, there is no real difference between the level of Christian teenagers’ premarital sexual involvement than their non-Christian counterparts.
<>However, in reality, Jesus desires to be, and deserves to be, Lord of every area of our lives.
--He’s not willing to be anything less.
--And He’s not stupid enough to see it as no big deal.
<>Simply put, when it comes to our lives, if Jesus is not Lord of all, He’s not Lord at all.
<>He Himself addressed this notion of compartmentalizing our lives, when He stated very straightforwardly in Luke 6:4: “Why do you call Me, “Lord, Lord,” and do not do what I say?”
<>God’s instructions to us are that we are not to conform the world’s way of thinking, but uphold God’s standard.
<>APP>If you think you can relegate Jesus to a “lesser god” position in your life, if you think you can separate Him from being Lord of every area of your life, then you’re telling Him there’s NO ROOM for Him in your life, because He won’t “settle” for anything other than being Lord of every area.
2) CLUTTER.
--Eph.5:16 -- “...making the most of your time, because the days are evil.”
--Heb.12:1 -- “...let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith...”
---ILL>A lady once lamented to me, “O, preacher, I’d really like to serve the Lord, but I just don’t have any time! Between raising my daughter, working a 20-hour a week job at the video store, taking my daughter to soccer practice and soccer games, scrapbooking with my scrapbook club on Saturdays, working out at the gym four nights a week, blogging my daily bog on the Internet, and keeping up with “Desperate Housewives,” “Survivor,” and “American Idol,” by the time Sunday rolls around, it is the only day my husband and I have to take our boat out and spend the day at the lake or go paintballing, or riding our ATV’s in the desert. We just don’t have the time to serve the Lord like we’d really like to.”
---She, as so many others do also, was living a much too cluttered existence.
<>The truth is, every one of us has exactly the same amount of time as everyone else...twenty four hours every day.
<>The question is not really how much time you have, because you have the same as everyone else.
--The question is how you are SPENDING or INVESTING the time God has given you.
---ILL>Think about all the time saving devices we have that our grandparents didn’t: microwave ovens, remote controls, dishwashers, fast food, convenience stores, on-line shopping, baby food (that’s a big time saver!)
-->But let me ask you...are all these time saving devices really saving us time? -- NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
---We have FILLED the time we saved by using a microwave oven vs. a conventional oven. Now we spend that time surfing the internet.
---The time we save using a remote control?--Now we spend that time text messaging.
---The time we save not having to lick stamps, mail envelopes, go to the post office?--Now we send fifty e-mail messages or download music on our I-pods or blackberries.
---The time we save driving a car vs. riding in a buggy pulled by a horse?--We use that time to chat on a cell phone or watch “reality TV” shows on our plasma TV’s that we had to work overtime at work to help pay for.
<>APP>If our lives are so busy...even doing “good” things...that we don’t take / make time to give proper attention and priority to our relationship with the Lord...then we are MUCH TOO BUSY...much busier than we were created to be.
---ILL>And sadly, some churches seem to ENCOURAGE clutter! -- Instead of helping us make room for God, they schedule church activities, committee meetings, socials, studies that tie up every day of the week, and expect all of the really devoted Christian members to attend! -- I’m reminded of the poem about Southern Baptists (we are Southern Baptists, so I’m not taking a swipe at some group, although you could just as easily plug in the name of some other denomination as well). The poem goes like this: “Mary had a little lamb, it grew to be a sheep. It became a Southern Baptist then, and died from lack of sleep!”
-->Look again at Hebrews 12:1 -- “...let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith...”
<>APP>We need to lay aside all the activities that are clutter, activities that are keeping us from being who God created us to be. We need to get rid of them in order to MAKE ROOM and give priority to the Lord.
-->By the way, it’s important to note that Jesus, in accomplishing all He accomplished, never is recorded as being in a hurry!
---QUOTE: Eric Hoffer -- “The feeling of being hurried is not usually the result of living a full life and having no time. It is, on the contrary, born of a vague fear that we are wasting our life. When we do not do the one thing we ought to do, we have no time for anything else--we become the busiest, and least contented people in the world.”
---ILL>One of the best series of books I’ve read recently is the “Boundaries” series...learning to place and keep boundaries.
-----You can find the information on our website under the “suggested reading” section, but these books provide great insight and practical help in learning to say “no” to demands on your time, learning to delegate, and letting go of some of the clutter.
<>Because in the final analysis, clutter is a choice...a bad choice, but a choice.
3) COMPROMISING.
--Rev.3:16 -- “...I would that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm...I will spit you out of My mouth.”
--Luke 6:4 -- “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?”
<>It’s expressed in a variety of ways:
----“Oh, I don’t want to be known as a fanatic...I don’t want to be too intense.”
----“I want people to know me as a person who knows how to have a good time and won’t cramp other people’s lives.”
----“Well, Jesus will understand if I’m just a little naughty.”
<>Actually, it makes Jesus sick.
-->Look at Revelation 3:16 -- “...I would that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm...I will spit you out of My mouth.”
---ILL>The early Christians were brought to the public square in cities under the jurisdiction of Rome and told that their lives would be spared only if they would toss a touch of incense on the fire burning before the image of Caesar. It was a very small gesture, the captors would explain, compared to being fed to the lions or being burned at the stake! These Christians could have compromised, arguing perhaps that they could do more good by living than by dying. They could have advocated, as some do, that he who fights and runs away will live to fight another day,” or that it’s better to be a live dog than a dead lion. But they refused, telling their abductors, “Once men catch a glimpse of the face of God, they refuse to bow to the image of a man.”
-->You see, those believers were definitely giving Jesus first place, MAKING ROOM for Him...giving Him priority in their lives.
----They understood Jesus’ instructions in Luke 9:23 -- “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.”
---ILL>Baptists in Russia tell the story of a group of Christians who were meeting in secret for Bible Study in a village near Moscow. Suddenly the door of the meeting room burst open, and there stood two communist soldiers, their rifles with bayonets pointed at the Christians. One of the soldiers shouted, “We want to be fair about this, so if you’re not really committed to this Jesus stuff, and you don’t really believe the Bible, we give you a chance to leave. Now get up and go if that is you!” All but six of the more than twenty left the room for fear of their lives. Then the soldiers went to each of the doors that led to the room and locked them. They turned and looked at the remaining Christians, then listened with their ears pressed up against the doors for a moment to make sure the insincere ones had gone away. Then they took their rifles, and leaned them up against the wall. The same soldier who had shouted earlier, said to them, “We are Christians too! We just couldn’t take a chance. Let’s study God’s Word together now.”
<>Whether it’s by compartmentalizing, being too cluttered, or choosing to compromise, if you think Jesus is satisfied by just giving Him a couple hours of your time on Sunday mornings, not being really committed to Him, you’re actually saying, “NO ROOM,” to Him.
---QUOTE: Zig Ziglar: “I often hear the phrase, ‘Sunday Christians,’ but the more I think about it, the more I am convinced these people do not exist. It is true that there are some who go to church on Sundays, dutifully carrying their Bibles, paying their stipend to the church, adjusting their halos, and rubbing their souls with the saints will planning to go back to the business community on Monday and prove how adept they are at manipulating people for their own personal gains. But I repeat, there is no such thing as a ‘Sunday Christian.’ There are people who go to church on Sundays who SAY they’re Christians, but when Christ takes over a life it is a total makeover, not just for one day of a week or even two or three. This is not to say that Christians will live perfect, sinless lives, because they won’t. But it does mean that when a Christian knowingly sins, God puts a burden within him or her that he cannot bear until he or she confesses, and makes it right.”
4) COMFORT.
--Luke 12:19 -- “and I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have many good laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.’”
--Gal.6:9 -- “Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.”
<>It’s usually voiced (outside of Desert Springs) in ways such as...
--“I’m looking for a church whose worship never lasts more than an hour...any longer than that really cramps my schedule.”
--“I really wish preachers would stop emphasizing being involved in evangelism...I like our little church just like it is. If we bring in a whole lot of new people, things will change drastically.”
--“I wish churches would stop singing those new songs...the hymns were good enough for the disciples, they’re good enough for us.”
--“I think everyone who comes to church should be wearing nice clothes. Those people who look so shabby just make the worship service so uncomfortable for me.”
--“I think shorts and t-shirts ought to be the dress code at church. After all, God doesn’t want us to be uncomfortable as we serve Him, right?”
--“I’m just not comfortable talking to people about Jesus, I’ll leave that to the pastor.”
<>But It’s also overheard around here sometimes...
--“Oh, I’d be willing to help unload the trailer and help set up the equipment every week if it just didn’t mean having to get up so early in the morning!”
--“I’d be willing to help with ‘Kids’ Time’ if it didn’t mean I’d miss out being in “big church.” I enjoy that too much to serve.
---ILL>That’s kind of like the young man who was very much in love with a young lady. He wrote her and told her that in order to be in her beautiful presence he’d be willing to endure the cold of the Arctic, cross the burning sands of the desert, climb the highest mountain, or swim the ocean. Then he closed his letter by saying, “So, I’ll see you Wednesday night if it doesn’t rain.”
<>Sadly, for many, Christianity seems to be less a matter of commitment, and more a matter of convenience.
<>With Jesus’ instructions telling us that following Him meant denying yourself, taking up a cross every day, and then following Him, let me ask you a question: HOW COMFORTABLE DO YOU THINK A CROSS WAS DESIGNED TO BE?
<>Here’s a suggestion: Why not get out on a limb for Jesus? -- That’s where all the fruit is!
BRINGING IT HOME...
Maybe you think... “Had I been at Bethlehem that night I would have seen, I would have understood, I would have know it was the Christ child.”
---Would you?
->There’s one way of knowing:
---Ask yourself, “What have I seen and heard THIS Christmas season?”
<>What have you seen this Christmas season?
--When you watched the 6:00 news, did you see chaos and strife?---Or did you see sheep without a shepherd?
--When you went out to do your shopping, did you see only hordes of people in stores?--Or did you notice the worried expressions on some of their faces?.. Worried because they are facing this Christmas without employment or without enough money to makes ends meet, and they don’t know how they’re going to come through it?
<>What did you HEAR this Christmas?
--Did you hear only the blast of music and carols, and the honking of car horns?--Or did you hear the silent sighs of the lonely and bereaved who may be dreading Christmas because it accentuates their loneliness?
--And in the midst of all the honking horns and people arguing over parking places, did you hear the sounds of laughter coming from Africa because you sent a shoe box filled with surprises to a child overseas?
<>APP>You see, so often what we see and what we hear is not dependent upon the event, but upon ourselves.
--If you did, in fact, hear the cry from the lonely, the laughter of children...If you did, in fact, see the crowds as merely sheep without a shepherd, then maybe you WOULD have noticed the events that took place in Bethlehem that night.
<>But if you lacked the spiritual seeing and hearing this Christmas season, then you probably would have been with the 99% of those who were present that first Christmas, but who saw or heard nothing out of the ordinary.
-->In the end, one of the carols we sing perhaps says it best:
----“No ear may hear His coming, but in this world of sin, where meek souls shall receive Him still, the dear Christ enters in.”
<>No room? -- Oh, please, Lord, You can stay in MY room...in EVERY ROOM of my heart.
