The Face of God
Matthew 1:18-25
Christmas Eve 2010
What does it mean that God showed his face among men?
It means he loves us (John 3:16)
It means he wants to be with us (Matthew 1:23;
Slide
Merry Christmas.
We are glad that you are here this evening to worship Jesus, the Christ as you begin your celebrations.
Who will be at your Christmas celebration?
Family will almost certainly be there.
Some of you might have some friends as well.
Over this past month, we have been talking about the people who were at the very first Christmas celebration, actually there at the birth of Christ and we were seeking to look at each person to see what the Lord would have us learn from each person that was there.
Face of Awe – Shepherds
We started out looking into the face of Awe as we talked about the Shepherds and learned how to recapture some of the Awe of Christmas by realizing how truly we needed a Savior.
Face of Courage - Joseph
We have looked into the face of Courage as we talked about Joseph and learned what courage looks like and the courage that is necessary to be obedient.
Face of Faith - Mary
Last Sunday we looked into the face of faith as we saw Mary’s incredible faith to follow after the Lord and find contentment even when He leads us through circumstances that are difficult and include suffering.
This evening, we are going to wrap up this series looking into the face of God
Slide
considering Jesus Himself and what it is we can learn from the fact that He came into this world to show God’s face to mankind.
To start, we are going to read Matthews account of how the birth of Jesus came about.
Slide
Matthew 1:18-25
18 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
Slide
20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."
Slide
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"—which means, "God with us."
Slide
24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
The text tells us they will call Jesus, Immanuel, which means God with us.
Slide
We find in many places in Scripture that tell us that Jesus is in fact God.
John 1:1, 14
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.
Colossians 1:15 - He is the image of the invisible God
Slide
Jesus himself even claimed to be God when He spoke with the disciples.
John 14:8-9
Slide
8 Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us."
9 Jesus answered: "Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.
Scripture is clear that Jesus is God and when we look into the face of Jesus we are looking into the face of God.
But why did God show his face upon the earth?
What does it mean that God put on flesh and showed himself to men?
That is the question I want to ask and answer tonight.
We could speculate all we want on the answer to that question, but thankfully we have the Scriptures we can turn to so we can discover the things that the Lord wants us to know. This is why He has given us His word. Many will question if we can really believe what the Bible says.
Back to Basics Promo
I want to invite you back to Hickory Creek on Sunday, January 16th. We will be hosting a Back to Basics Seminar where we will spend a significant amount of time looking into the evidence that supports the truth that the Bible is really the word of God as opposed to any other religious writing like the Koran or the book of Mormon. So make plans to come out to that and learn why you can believe the Bible in what it says.
Ok, assuming the truth of the Bible for now, what does the Bible say in regards to why Jesus came?
The first reason we find in Scripture that God showed Himself on the earth is because
God loves us
Slide
The reason that God came to earth and put on flesh is because He loves us.
John 3:16
16 "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.
Now, when we think of love, often we think of the emotional aspect of love.
But the word used for love here is the Greek word, “agape” which is a committed kind of love.
It is a love that is not dependent on us and what we do.
It is a love that is entirely dependent upon God and His nature which is love.
I think to truly gain a proper perspective on God’s love, it will help us to consider our love of others.
Our love for people is very dependent on the person.
We are very unlikely to love people
who are ungrateful,
who don’t love us,
who act selfishly
But that is exactly what God does.
He loves us when we are ungrateful, when we are not acting in loving ways toward Him, when we are acting in loving ways only toward ourselves.
While He loves us as we are, His love is not content to leave us in that state.
He wants better for us.
When we enter into the love the Lord has for us, He changes us.
The Bible tells us we become a new creation.
This is the main reason that God came, because He loves us. He loves you.
When we love someone, it propels us to do things.
Well, God’s love for us
caused Him to leave heaven
caused him to be born into this world
caused him to put on flesh.
caused him to suffer
caused him to ultimately pay for our sins even as we sin against Him
Romans 5:8 tells us that “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
He loves us dearly and demonstrates that love by showing his face and being the payment for our sins.
There is another reason for Christ coming into this world and it is certainly related to His love for us, but it is a bit different as well.
Jesus came into this world because
God wants to be with us
Slide
In the verse we read earlier in Matthew 1, it tells us that Jesus would be called, “’Immanuel’—which means, ‘God with us.’" (Matthew 1:23)
Imagine that. God not only loves us but wants to be with us.
Now we all have people that we love, like some family members, but we don’t really like hanging out with them. In fact, we would prefer not to be around them.
But God not only loves us, but wants to be with us.
And even as he left this earth, He has given those who receive Him as Savior His Holy Spirit so He can be with us always until He returns and then we get to see Him face to face.
So Jesus came into this world because God loves us, He wants to be with us, and
God wants to give life to us
Slide
So often, people are only existing, they are not really living.
They are seeking to make enough money to live, to pay the bills and provide for our family, but often it is just trying to exist.
God wants to give us real life.
Slide
John 10:10 - I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
Christ did not come just so we would not perish, but so we could have everlasting life, life to the full.
That is what we are celebrating tonight.
The Birth of Christ shows God’s love for us, His desire to be with us and to give us real life, not just an existence.
Praise the Lord for His wonderful love for us.
Transition
I think it is easy for us to forget these things because the story of his birth seems so far removed from us. I think for many in our generation it is hard to relate to. The cultural situations of the shepherds, Joseph and Mary are hard for us to understand in today’s culture.
This is why we have preached this series this past month.
Before we finish tonight, I want to share with you again the story of Christ’s birth in a context that may be more familiar to some. Personally, I thought this was quite creative and beneficial in reminding me of faith and courage of those the Lord used to show His face in this world.
I hope it will be beneficial and moving for you as well.
Video – A Social Network Christmas (by Igniter Media)
Transition Slide after video
His Name is Jesus, He shall be called Immanuel which means God with us.
We are going to close our service tonight worshiping.
I invite the worship team back up and as they come, we are going to begin lighting candles.
Jesus said "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:12 - (NIV)
He also said that Believers in Him “are the light of the world’ and that we are to “let [our] light shine before men, that they may see [our] good deeds and praise [our] Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14, 16 – NIV)
Let the light from these candles represent the light of Christ in us. And as it goes from one light and spreads throughout the Sanctuary, let that remind each of us to spread His light in the world.
Let’s worship.
O Holy Night
Silent Night
I want to thank you for coming tonight and worship the newborn King with us.
If you would like to know more about Christ, I urge you come and talk with myself or Billy and if you are looking for a church home, we invite you back to our worship services on Sunday at 9am and 10:45 am.
Rejoice that there is good news of great joy for all people… a Savior has been born, He is Christ the Lord. Merry Christmas.
