OUTLINE
Please Don’t Come For Christmas – Part 2
4 reasons why Jesus shouldn’t have come
Celebration Church – December 6, 2009
Why Jesus shouldn’t come:
Reason #1 - He wasn’t wanted by the ruling authorities
Reason #2 – He wasn’t welcomed by His own
Luke 2:4-7 (NIV) “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. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 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.”
Not Welcomed
Joseph belonged to a family yet no one offered help
“…he belonged to the house and line of David...”
Joseph and Mary were shunned by their family
“…there was no room for them in the inn.”
John 1:11 (NIV) “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.”
Jesus’ life was a life filled with rejection
Isa 53:3 (NIV) “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.”
HOW DO I ACCEPT JESUS?
John 1:12 (NIV) “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”
BELIEVE
“…to those who believed in his name…”
Matt 1:21 (NIV) “… you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."
Phil 2:11 (NIV) “… every tongue (will) confess that Jesus Christ is Lord...”
Jesus is Jehovah – Jesus is God!
Matt 1:23 (NIV) "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"-- which means, "God with us."
John 1:1 (NIV) “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
RECIEVE
“…Yet to all who received him...”
Isa 9:6 (NIV) “…he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
He understands you – Wonderful counselor
He is all powerful on your behalf– Mighty God
His love for you never ends– Everlasting Father
He is the captain of your storms – Prince of peace
BECOME
“…he gave the right to become children of God… born of God…”
Gal 4:4-6 (NIV) “But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons...”
Rom 8:23 (NIV) “Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.”
John 3:16 (NIV) "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
TEXT
Please Don’t Come For Christmas – Part 2
4 reasons why Jesus shouldn’t have come
Celebration Church – December 6, 2009
Last week we started this series by saying that not all were happy with the coming of Christ. As matter of fact his very birth shook up the region of Judea and caused some jitters among the ruling authorities and the people.
Have you ever been somewhere where you knew you didn’t fit in or belong? It’s not an easy feeling is it? Well Jesus was most definitely not wanted and didn’t fit into the world that He came into.
So while the title of this series is please don’t come for Christmas, it simply serves to show us how Christ was treated on the occasion of His own birth and is still being treated today.
People will say, BRING ON THE HOLIDAYS! Let’s party, let’s exchange gifts, let’s live it up – but hey, just don’t bring any of the Jesus junk in! We like our holiday, but we’re not interested in Jesus.
WELL THE HOLIDAY IS CALLED CHRISTMAS - And it’s all about Christ!
So today just as in days gone by, we see that Jesus really isn’t wanted by the masses.
Why Jesus shouldn’t come:
Last week we saw,
Reason #1 - He wasn’t wanted by the ruling authorities – Herod wasn’t exactly excited about a new king showing up on his turf.
This week we’ll look at the second reason Jesus shouldn’t have come humanly speaking.
Reason #2 – He wasn’t welcomed by His own
Luke 2:4-7 (NIV) “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. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 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.”
The custom in these days as still may be so even in our world, was that, if a family member was traveling and came by your home, you were obligated by a moral code to house and feed them till they could be on their way.
This happens even today in our society, Uncle Jim Bob show’s up with Aunt Bertha and the six young-un’s by surprise and announce the good news that they’ll be staying a week or so…
Well maybe not that bad, still the custom was to house traveling family.
We see Joseph and Mary traveling to his ancestral home, Bethlehem for the census and arriving there nine months pregnant with no place to go. They go to the local Inn and guess what? With all the visitors and census people in town, there’s no room for Joseph, his extremely expectant wife and their new child.
Now this is important for painting this picture. Why were they not taken in by family members? Why were they on their own?
Obviously the family was not willing to support Joseph with his already pregnant bride and her account of how she got that way.
Not Welcomed
Look at these three truths about this situation.
Joseph belonged to a family yet no one offered help
“…he belonged to the house and line of David...”
Now we see here the significance of the family that Joseph belonged to, as a matter of fact if there were still a monarchy, Joseph possibly was in line to be the king.
We see here that Joseph has family; he belonged to this household this extended family unit. He probably spent summers in Bethlehem as a kid or visited with his parents at times, this wasn’t new real estate for him.
HE’S IN TOWN AND IT LOOKS AS IF THERE’S NO ONE THERE TO WELCOME HIM.
The burden that Joseph and Mary carried I think is sometimes more than we could imagine. In the middle of all this the new baby wasn’t welcomed into the family!
It’s interesting to note that the name Bethlehem means House of bread and later Jesus is called the bread of life.
Joseph and Mary were shunned by their family
“…there was no room for them in the inn.”
This is similar but it bears emphasis. Not only did the family hat Joseph belonged to not run to help, they didn’t open their homes to them and in essence shunned this young couple.
Here’s the picture. Joseph shows up in town with his fiancé. She already pregnant, claiming that God was the actual father of the child. They must have thought that Joseph was deranged or something because he was buying the whole thing.
So, in a family that was part of the lineage of David, the godly line stretching back to Seth the son of Adam and Eve, there was no possibility in their mind that God was at work here. They completely missed the event that was happening and in reality said to this young couple – PLEASE DON’T COME HERE (for Christ-birth).
John 1:11 (NIV) “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.”
Do you realize that it was thirty years before Jesus began to validate the claims of who He was? Mary lived with these truths but was shunned by an unbelieving world.
Jesus’ life was a life filled with rejection
Not only did family not reach out and actually shun this young couple and their new baby, the Bible says that Jesus’ life was filled with sorrows and rejection.
Everywhere he went he was met with some sort of opposition. You think you’ve had it bad?
Isa 53:3 (NIV) “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.”
So in a world that didn’t and still doesn’t accept the one who is the center and focus of Christmas, how do we accept this one who was rejected?
How Do I Accept Jesus?
John 1:12 (NIV) “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”
This morning I want to share with you three simple truths from that passage of scripture that could revolutionize your life.
Circle the words, receive, believe and become. There’s something to receive today for you and there’s someone to become if you’ll follow what the Word of God says.
Believe
“…to those who believed in his name…”
Underline the words, “in his name.” Next to it write the word authority. The name of Jesus represents who he is and what he can do for you.
This name sets him apart from any other person because it represents who has sent him and by what authority He has come.
When a police officer shows you his badge, he is showing you his authority. On his own, he has none, but that badge represents the full weight of the law behind him. If a police officer tells you to get down while he’s holding his gun, you shouldn’t ask him questions – you follow his instructions. It may be for your safety or the safety of others. Why? Because of the authority that backs him.
So we see here there must be a belief or as we said last week, a resting faith in this name this authority.
What does the authority enable him to do? Let’s look at this next verse.
Matt 1:21 (NIV) “… you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."
Underline save his people from their sins.
Jesus (gk. Iesous) (Hebrew transliteration) Joshua = Jehovah is salvation
Now I want you to see an all important truth here. Look at this next verse.
Phil 2:11 (NIV) “… every tongue (will) confess that Jesus Christ is Lord...”
Lord (gr. Kurios) “one with authority” – NT form for Jehovah
Jesus is Jehovah – Jesus is God!
Jesus has the authority of God to save you because HE IS GOD!
Matt 1:23 (NIV) "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"-- which means, "God with us."
John 1:1 (NIV) “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (see verse 14 for clarification on the word “Word”)
So when we believe our faith is in God himself.
Receive
“…Yet to all who received him...”
God has something for you, but you must receive it. All the belief in the world alone will not help you till you simply reach out and take it.
WHILE THE REST OF THE WORLD REJECTED JESUS THEN AND EVEN STILL TODAY – God is saying, won’t you accept him? Won’t you receive him? You do it through this belief.
WHO IS HE TO THOSE WHO BELIEVE?
Isa 9:6 (NIV) “…he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
He is the one who understands you – Wonderful counselor
He is the mighty one, all powerful on your behalf– Mighty God
His love for you never ends– Everlasting Father
He is the captain of your storms – Prince of peace
Receiving Jesus is all about who He is and what He’s already done for you. Once you do that you can then become all that God wants for you.
Become
“…he gave the right to become children of God… born of God…”
Now I hope you’ve grasped the big truths, Jesus is God and He has something for you. The next big truth is this: You can be adopted into His family and become like Jesus, a son with full rights. You’ll not be a god, just godly.
Gal 4:4-6 (NIV) “But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons...”
Next to the words “full rights of sons” write the word adoption that’s what it means.
This word adoption in the Roman culture had many meanings and options and is much different from our modern understanding of the word. Today if a family adopts a child, and many here have, they bring that child, baby or even teen into their home and care for that one. The practice of adoption was done in Roman times for numerous reasons but adopting adults was also a practice in Rome.
No one that I know typically adopts people when they are adults, yet that’s exactly what was done in the culture in which the Bible was written. Many times for an heir to their estate or for other reasons such as an heir to the throne.
In the Roman Empire, adoption was the most common way of acceding to the throne without use of force. The second emperor, Tiberius, was the adopted son of Augustus, beginning a general tradition that the Emperor would adopt a successor. During the Roman Empire’s first 200 years, this tradition was common with Tiberius, Caligula, Nero, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Lucius Verus all becoming Emperor through adoption. In contrast, heredity only brought Claudius, Titus and Domitian to power.
A slave or a person indentured to a family decides as they become an adult to be part of that family forever because of the good care this family has given to him and his household. He makes an agreement with the owner or family leader to be adopted into this family. This adoptive individual is taken to a wood post and a hole is punch through the earlobe of the person signifying the adoption of this person.
This may seem strange but it was a loving and gracious ceremony of becoming part of this family and the mark was there to prove it. This adopted individual now had all the rights as a son in that family – an inheritance, ownership and authority. There was one other advantage though that this adopted person gained over the natural born children – an adopted son could never be disowned for any reason!
THIS IS WHAT GOD HAS PROMISED FOR YOU AND FOR ME WHO BELIEVE AND RECEIVE – WE BECOME THE ADOPTIVE CHILDREN OF GOD NEVER TO BE DISOWNED!
All rights and privileges are ours!
We have this spiritual adoption and one day our bodies will realize the full extent of it too. Our salvation was secured through faith, adoption refers to the place we have in Christ – Son’s with full rights!
Rom 8:23 (NIV) “Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.”
Now I don’t know who you parents are, maybe you don’t even know. What I want you to know is that all of your life, God has been waiting for you to become what He’s truly desired for you.
The birth of the babe was a step toward you from God. He sent Jesus for a very specific reason.
John 3:16 (NIV) "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Have you believed in Jesus? Have you received the greatest Christmas gift of all time?
Maybe today you can say, “Please come into my life for Christmas!”
TIME OF COMMITMENT – Dear Jesus, I believe in you. I accept that you are God and today I surrender my life to follow you. Your gift of life on the cross made a way for me to enter heaven. Thank you for dying for me, for going to the grave and rising again. I receive all you have for me, help me become all you want me to be. In Jesus Name A-men!
ALL TITHE DAY
