Jesus in the Real World
Luke 2:1-24
December 9, 2007
NOTE: THE ME/WE/GOD/YOU/WE FORMAT USED IN MY MESSAGES IS BORROWED FROM ANDY STANLEY’S BOOK, "COMMUNICATING FOR A CHANGE."
We: Raise your hand if you either are a teenager or you’ve been a teenager.
Now raise your hand if at anytime during your teenage years you wondered if your parents really understood what you were going through.
CHAIN LETTER FOR PARENTS
It reads: "Dear Friend: This chain letter is meant to bring relief and happiness to you. Unlike other chain letters, this one does not cost money. Simply send a copy of this letter to six other parents who are tired of their teenagers. Then bundle your teenager up and send him or her to the parent at the bottom of the list. In one week you will receive 16,436 teenagers – and one of them should be worth keeping. Warning: One dad broke the chain and got his own teenager back." (SermonCentral.com. Contributed by Phil Morgan.)
Mark Twain advised that when a child reaches 13 years of age, a parent should place the child in a BARREL, NAIL the LID shut, and FEED the teenager through a KNOT HOLE. And when the child turns 16 years-old . . . PLUG the HOLE!
Of course, Mark Twain was also the one who wrote, “When I was 18 years-old I thought my father was the most IGNORANT man alive. When I turned 21, I was surprised how much the old man learned in just three short years.” (SermonCentral.com. Contributed by Fred Sigle)
One of the hardest parts about being a teenager is the idea that what we’re going through is new to us and our generation and that no grown up could possibly understand, right?
One of the hardest parts about being the parent of a teenager is the idea that we do know what they’re going through, but we have a hard time communicating that to our teen.
And so some parents, in an effort to be able to communicate do weird things like dressing like their teen and trying to talk like them.
Back in the sixties and early 70’s, the parent would have said something like, “Hey man, I’m really trying to dig where you’re coming from.”
In the 80’s it would have been like, “That’s a real bummer, dude. Tell you what – let’s go play Donkey Kong – that’ll be totally awesome!”
Nowadays it’d be, “’Sup, dawg. Man, that’s totally whack!”
Parenting tip of the day: don’t do that to your teen, especially if they have friends around. It’ll take them years to forgive you for it.
I was fortunate enough to have a dad I could talk to, even about hard things when I was in high school, but not everyone has that or had that.
To me, probably the greatest thing about Christmas, other than the fact that it started the process of salvation, if you will, is that it showed that God went all the way to be able to relate to what you and I go through in life.
God is all-knowing, of course, and so He didn’t have to go that far, but He did. And so Jesus, in human flesh, experienced first-hand what it’s like for you and I to live day to day, with all the hassle, headaches, joys and wonders that brings.
And yet God is often looked at as some type of being who is far away and far beyond us, and unable to really interact with us and move on our behalf, and maybe just uninterested in doing so.
Have you ever felt that way? I can guarantee you that many do feel that way, even many Christians.
And that’s incredibly sad, because one of the great truths of Scripture is that God took on flesh and became one of us – a real person in the real world.
As we look at this passage of Scripture, my prayer is that if you are one of those who have never grasped the truth that God knows what you’re going through, that you’ll walk away with something that will change your life in a way you never thought possible.
God: Luke 2:1-24 (pp. 724-725) –
1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to his own town to register.
4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 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. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
15 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."
16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
21 On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived.
22 When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord" ), 24 and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: "a pair of doves or two young pigeons."
There are a number of things that this passage tells us about how God wanted to reach out to us on a level we could all understand and take hold of.
First of all, he didn’t come all wrapped in gold robes on a gold throne – wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a food trough.
He had to hang out with the smelly animals and the dirty straw that hadn’t been cleaned out in who knows how long.
He needed His swaddling clothes changed. He couldn’t feed himself. He couldn’t do anything for Himself.
He wasn’t greeted by royalty – He was greeted by pagan astrologers and outcast shepherds. In fact, the only royalty who had any interest in the birth of the Messiah was a paranoid king who tried to kill Jesus.
He wasn’t born into privilege or wealth – He was born into poverty. The Law said that they were to bring a lamb and a dove or pigeon for a sin offering. But if they could not afford that, then the Law said they could bring what Joseph and Mary brought in verse 24 -"a pair of doves or two young pigeons."
Not only was He born into common circumstances, He grew up the same way. He lived among regular people as a regular man – even though He was obviously much more than that.
He was the Son of God but did not demand that others give Him special treatment.
The Bible says in Isaiah that He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him.
Now that one’s a bit of a mystery to me. I mean, if I had my choice, I’d probably choose to look more like Orlando Bloom or Patrick Swayze or Harrison Ford.
But the Bible also says that Jesus knew the hearts of men and so He was aware of the way people have always looked at the outward appearance rather than the inward.
He grew up and lived in ordinary circumstances.
He dressed like everyone else. He spoke the language of the people. He laughed, He sang, He cried, just like everyone around Him. Just like you and me.
The Bible says that Jesus was just like us in every way except that He never sinned.
But He had a mission that was anything but ordinary.
Think with me for just a moment. Why would God do it this way?
Why didn’t God just send Jesus down in a glorious procession in the clouds so that there would be no misunderstanding, and so everyone would recognize who He was and what He was going to do?
Why did He choose to come as a person that could be seen, touched, loved, and hated?
Here’s what I think:
God became a real person in the real world so real people in the real world could know Him.
I believe that with everything in me. And it’s my mission in life to help as many people know Him as I possibly can.
God isn’t hiding – He’s available to all who choose to look for Him. He’s made Himself known not just in the fact that He became a man, but He left us His record so we could know Him and take advantage of the salvation He came to bring.
On the front of your bulletin you’ll see a motto, if you will. It says, “Real faith…in the real God…for real people… in the real world.”
That’s what we’re all about. I think that’s what God wants – to show people that He is there for everyone no matter their station in life, and that He is ready to meet them in any situation and circumstance.
You: So here’s something I would like to suggest, that you can do at any time of year, but that I hope you’ll take some real time to think about as we get closer to Christmas:
Approach God as someone who understands you for who you are in whatever situation you find yourself in.
The mighty God, Creator of the universe, knows who you are, He knows what you’re going through, and He wants to be part of all that.
Jesus left His glory so that you and He could have a relationship that affects your life today and gives you eternity to look forward to.
As we get closer to Christmas, take some time to really thank Jesus for going all the way to make sure you could know God while on earth and spend eternity with Him in heaven.
Earlier I mentioned the motto on the front of our bulletins. Look at that again, will you?
Real faith…in the real God…for real people…in the real world.
When people look at you, do they see that in you?
Do they see that you have something inside of you – a real faith that impacts who you are in the real world because you believe in the God of Scripture?
Or do they see the same hollow faith that so many carry – a faith the mentions Jesus when it’s convenient or timely, but doesn’t really live as a life-changing force in their lives?
Do you really believe that God knows and cares for you – right now – today – in the midst of the joy or pain or whatever you’re going through?
Because whether you know it or not or whether you believe it or not, it’s true. And I want you to know it down to the depths of your being.
He understands – and He doesn’t have to say, “Sup, dawg?” in order to get you to open up to Him. He already knows and understands.
Jesus came down so that you and I could relate to Him because He related to us at the most deep levels of our lives.
So let Him in. Let Him meet you at your deepest need. Let His Word live in you and dwell in you, and let the Holy Spirit use it to make you more like Jesus, so you talk to your Heavenly Father about the things on your heart, knowing that He gets it.
We: Folks, can you imagine what it would do for our area if everyone who called themselves a Christian would live like they really believe God cares about every area of their life?
Can you imagine what would happen if people saw that there are those in this area who actually believe that God can relate to what they’re going through?
Can you imagine how lives could be impacted if they would see Christians who really live a life of faith in the real God who cares about real people in the real world?
Can you imagine what would happen as they see these people living in joyful obedience because they know that God will take care of them because He knows what’s going on in their lives?
It would be amazing.
But the truth of the matter is that the world doesn’t see it nearly often enough.
Instead, they see “Christians” who are rude, insensitive to others, and just as worried as they are about how to pay the bills and feed their families.
My hope is that when they look at you, they’ll see a confident hope in the One who promises to meet our needs as we focus on Him.
A confident faith that understands that He understands – because He took on flesh and lived in the real world, just like you and I do.
He knows and He understands. I pray that you will be able to rest in that through the season and throughout the year.
Let’s pray.
