Global Warming. They tell us we’re all doomed. They tell us that we’re destroying the planet. They tell us that the ice caps are going to melt, there are going to be terrible storms, polar bears will go extinct, and that poison ivy is going to grow bigger and more toxic.
They also tell us that the whole global warming panic is a farce – that it’s someone’s political agenda, not scientific fact. They tell us that man isn’t causing it, and that the changes they’re trying to get us to make are so insignificant they won’t make any difference at all. It just depends who “they” are. I have to tell you the biggest frustration of the whole subject is:
To whom do you listen?
The earth is warming. Since 1880, the probable average degree of surface warming in the Northern Hemisphere has been 1.2°F. So, yes, the earth is warming. But is it warming at a dangerous rate? Is man the cause of it?
It all depends on who you listen to. So, I encourage you to be careful about the people who gather and present the facts for you. They can’t all be right on this subject.
Whatever you conclude, you can be assured of this: the earth is changing, and one day it’s going to be different than it is right now. I believe that because I’ve read a story.
It’s a really old story. It starts out with the words, “In the beginning, God…”
Then, it takes shape quickly as God speaks into existence all that is. There, present in all of this is God the Son. He’s that part of God through Whom and for Whom all things were made. In fact, nothing that has been made was made apart from Him. Jesus is there at the beginning.
He’s there as God says, “Let Us make man in Our image” and He places the man and woman in His perfect world to work it and keep it. They live there, in a garden called Eden. In the center of the garden is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God tells Adam and Eve they must not eat from that tree: “…when you eat of it you will surely die."
They eat of it, and God kept His word.
1 Corinthians 15:21-22 …death came through a man…in Adam all die…
Beyond that, all women were cursed with greater pain in childbearing and an altered relationship to their husbands. The earth was cursed, so that man would be able to get it to work for him only by hard work. Somehow, thorns and thistles, disease, chiggers, hurricanes, income taxes and homework all became a part of the once perfect creation, and worst of all, death did too.
So, from Genesis 3 on, all we have ever been able to experience or even read about is this flawed creation – one that has been “subjected to futility”; in shorter words, cursed. It was changed.
Man becomes even worse by Genesis 6. In fact, it’s so bad that God starts all over with just one man’s family. Noah builds the ark, the flood comes, and God gives the whole creation an extreme makeover. The creation is changed. The earth has to start over. People don’t live as long after the flood. And God makes a promise that such a thing will never happen again. It’s another change that will last as long as creation.
The creation is still cursed. It’s still not the way God created it. The relationship between God and man still isn’t what He created it to be. So God has more changes planned.
That’s what we’re focused on this time of year – the most significant change of all.
We’ve already talked about the way Joseph and Mary had their lives changed, suddenly and forever. Today, we’re looking at a moment when the whole story of creation was changed, just like God planned it.
Luke 2:8-20
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about." So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
Now, we could keep this short and just try to think about how those shepherds’ lives were changed that night, although it doesn’t tell us a whole lot about them. They find the baby Jesus, and then they go back to where they were. How do you suppose you’d be changed?
I’d probably speak with more authority when it comes to what angels look and sound like!
I’d probably be looking at the skies more carefully every night.
I’d probably write some book, make some royalties, become famous.
Sure the shepherds were changed. But what happened that night was nothing less than the changing of all creation that would last forever.
That’s why, about 33½ years later, as Jesus hung dying on the cross, He cried out, “It is finished!”
(John 19:30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.) He used a word that expresses payment in full. Like at the bottom of a receipt that says, “Paid!” That’s what Jesus said about His work on the cross right before He died. Mission accomplished! Jesus had made the change creation needed.
Matthew records that at that moment, over in the temple, an amazing change occurred. The thick curtain that separated the Most Holy place, the presence of God, from the rest of the world, was ripped in 2 by the hand of God. For 1,000 years of worshiping in the tabernacle and then the temple, there was no direct access to God. Everything had to be done through the priests. No one could presume to appear before God. Jesus changed that. Now…
Ephesians 2:18
For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
1 Peter 3:18a
For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.
That’s a big change. A change that was made because God became flesh and lived among us.
God had planned and predicted this ever since the beginning of time, but it became a reality on the night that the baby Jesus was born and it was announced to the shepherds. Big changes in their lives maybe, but the change was much bigger than just them. God is changing the whole creation because He’s going to make it the way He designed it to be.
This Christmas, you need to remember that Jesus being born is more than just a change in the life of Mary or Joseph or shepherds or magi from the East. It’s the event that God used to change all of creation – including us, if we’ll accept it.
You see, your personal story reads a whole lot like the history of all creation.
For you, it starts when you were first created and born. Just like Adam and Eve, you were perfect. You didn’t know the difference between good and evil. There was nothing sinful about you. You had to grow and mature and learn that there is such a thing as right and wrong, and that there is a God Who deserves your obedience. But just like Adam and Eve, at some point, even though you knew what was right, you chose to disobey. The Bible calls it sin. And just like sin separated Adam and Eve from God, so has your sin separated you from God. It was a change in your life.
I know that this is true of me, and true of you, because the Scriptures teach that
Romans 3:23
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
and
Romans 6:23a For the wages of sin is death…
Before I sinned, I didn’t have that coming. Once I sinned, that changed. Just like creation has been flawed, my life has a flaw that needs fixing.
But God has a plan that has been unfolding from the very beginning. When the time had fully come, God sent his Son. And, at just the right time, while we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
Just like creation started to undergo a change when Jesus showed up, so do our lives. When Jesus arrives on the scene in our personal world, things change.
If you’re willing to accept Him, you can become a part of the new creation He’s making.
2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
Ill – For the past several months, I’ve been listening to Dave Ramsey if I happen to be in the car and his radio show is on. I also have developed a special interest in him since I went through Financial Peace University here this past fall. Each afternoon, people phone in live to Dave’s radio show, and a large number of those who call are people who have worked the program and have paid off all their debt, except their mortgage. They’re debt free. So Dave talks to them about how many thousands of dollars they paid off and how quickly they did it. He cheers for them on the air, and then, they get to count down and yell “I’m debt freeeeeee!” What a great feeling! One day, that’s going to be me! And yes, I’m going to call up and tell how we did it and we’re going to yell, “We’re debt freeeeee!”
You know what? When you’re in Christ you can really say that! Jesus cried out on the cross that your debt was paid in full. You can truly say it! But God’s work isn’t done. Creation is still waiting to be finished, and we’re still waiting to be finished too. There are still some changes that are going to take place…
1 Corinthians 15:51-57 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed--in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Have we seen it completed yet? No! Yesterday, I stood at the grave of our brother Bill Guinn. Bill died very unexpectedly this past week. We’re still waiting for the saying to come true. We’re still waiting for death, the last enemy, to be destroyed. We’re still waiting for God to create a new order, because, frankly, sometimes the current order of things stinks. Even creation itself is groaning for the change. We’re looking for the change that began in Bethlehem and that will be completed when God makes everything new.
2 Peter 3:13
But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.
Revelation 21:1
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.
Revelation 21:4-5
He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."
I want to encourage us all to do something about this today. So, here are a couple of applications to try:
1. Make a mental list of what is changed because Jesus came to earth
Christmas is all about lists, isn’t it? Santa’s making a list, checking it twice. You’ve turned in a list to someone so they can choose what to get you. Then there’s the list of people for whom you still need to get a present. And, in the next couple of days, there’s the list of things you have to get done and places you have to get to before it’s too late.
Too often, Christmas causes us to make mental lists that aren’t very helpful – like, “What do I want from Santa this year?” Or “How much of this will I be able to take before I go insane this year?”
What if, instead, you made a list of what’s different because Jesus came to earth? It could include:
1. I have the chance to spend eternity in heaven!
2. I know for certain that God understands my experience
3. How much I can understand about God is greater
4. I can speak to God with a special access pass
5.
By the time you make a list like that, you’ll have a whole set of reasons to praise God this time of year, rather than go insane. All of it goes back to the night that Jesus was born and placed in a manger in Bethlehem.
2. Be encouraged by the change that’s still going to happen
I see too many people who allow their outlook on daily life to be determined by discouragement. Stuff breaks down. People let you down. You get sick. You spend your day in fear over what could happen to you. You watch the evening news and see so many people suffering. People you know and love suffer or die. It can get pretty overwhelming, if you let it.
But I see something else at work here. I read these descriptions of the new order that’s going to be set in place, and I read about a new heaven and new earth. I read about the things that won’t be in heaven. And it occurs to me: God wants us to be encouraged by the thought of the change that’s going to take place. Why else would He tell us what He does about the place He’s preparing? Let’s listen to God on this one. Let’s find some encouragement that the way things are isn’t how things are always going to be!
Conclusion
"Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.
A Savior has been born to you. For everything about you to be new, you need to accept Jesus. II Co 5:17 says Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! That’s a conditional statement. It’s true for people who are “in Christ.” Are you? If not, this time is especially set aside to encourage you to come to Jesus; to be in Christ.
