Title: Bethlehem’s Promise
Date: 12/24/17
Place: BLCC
Text: Philippians 2.5-11
CT: Jesus entered the world not to demand our allegiance but to display his affection.
[Screen 1]
FAS: In his book Hidden in Plain Sight: The Secret of More, author and pastor Mark Buchanan illustrates God's love through the story of Tracy. He writes:
Tracy is one of the worship leaders at our church. One Sunday, as she sat at the piano, she talked about the difficult week she'd just been through. It was chaotic, she said—a mess of petty crises on top of a rash of minor accidents, all mixed up in a soup can of crazy busyness. It had left her weary and cranky. She got up that Sunday to lead worship and felt spent, with nothing more to give.
However, Tracy's 8-year-old daughter, Brenna, helped her gain new perspective earlier that morning. When Tracy had walked into the living room, the window was covered with scrawl. Using a crayon, Brenna had scribbled something across the picture window, top to bottom and side to side.
At first, it seemed like one more mess for Tracy to clean up. Then she saw what Brenna had written: love, joy, peace, patience, kindnece, goodnece, faithfulnece, gentlnece and selfcantrol (in Brenna's delightful spelling).
Mark writes: "Tracy stopped, drank it in. Her heart flooded with light. It was exactly what she needed to be reminded about: the gift of the fruit of the Spirit that arises, not by our circumstances, but by Christ within us.
And then Tracy noticed one more thing Brenna had written at the edge of the window: Love one another. Only Brenna, in her creative spelling, had written:
[Screen 2] Love won another."
As Mark concludes: "It's what Jesus has been trying to tell us all along. You were won that way. Now go and do likewise."
Mark Buchanan, Hidden in Plain Sight: The Secret of More (Thomas Nelson, 2007); submitted by Van Morris, Mount Washington, Kentucky
[Screen 3]
The large box sat in the corner of the room for weeks. It showed up right after Thanksgiving and sat there untouched throughout most of December. It was about four feet tall. Unlike all the other boxes near the Christmas tree this box had no wrapping paper or bows on it. It had no name of whom it was for or who was giving it away. It was taped shut, tightly shut so the kids couldn’t break in. They tried. All they could do was ask about the box and no body seemed to know anything.
Mom was not impressed, she said, “Oh that’s just something dad has bought for Christmas. If anything, she figured it was the motor for his fishing boat he had been eyeing.
On Christmas morning the older girls of the family opened their presents while the two boys ran all over the place playing with their new toys they had just received. Mom noticed the big plain box was still unopened and as tight as a bank safe.
She asked her husband, “Aren’t you going to open the big box honey?”
Dad could not keep a straight face any longer. He began to smile. He gave a sideways look and his eyes had a twinkle. He said, “That gift isn’t for me, it’s for you.”
Everybody stopped at this point what he or she was doing. Dad winked at the kids. They all looked at mom. She was looking at dad. Something cool was about to happen. Mom stepped toward the box. Dad grabbed his camera and all the kids sat around the box.
Mom pried open the top of the plain box. She reached in and pulled out a bunch of paper. One armful at a time.
Dad said, “Keep digging dear.”
What’s in here? She asks, still pulling out paper Finally she hits something. A box within a box. She opens it to find another box. This happens a couple of more times until she reaches the smallest of boxes.
A ring box. The kids yell open it mom. With a tear trying to come out of her eye she looks at her husband and gives him the biggest smile anyone could get.
I don’t know if you get the romantic significance of a new ring. But there is a lesson to learn here: a remarkable gift can arrive in a not so remarkable package.
One did in this story.
One did in Bethlehem.
No one for saw the way God came into the world. Especially the unusual way he came. The way he came was just as important as the coming itself.
The manger is the message. At least this was the opinion of the apostle Paul.
You may ask why are you preaching on Paul today Jim. What about Joseph, Mary, the shepherds, and the magi? Why are you preaching on a reformed Pharisee? We want to celebrate the birth of Jesus.
The thing is Paul’s words are the Bible’s most eloquent summary of the Bethlehem promise. The descended Christ at Christmas is now the ascended Christ and is now our king. [Screen4]
Philippians 2.5-11, 5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
The apostle is not writing a Christmas story here, but it brings out what Christmas should make us do. His aim with this was to counsel a church. It definitely counsels us. The Christians in Philippi were having some issues. They couldn’t get along with one another. They were arguing with one another instead of working to proclaim the gospel. Paul is telling them to be of the same mind in the Lord. He wanted the church to seek humility and be like Jesus. [Screen 5]
Jesus was “in very nature God.” Before Bethlehem, Jesus had been in heaven with every advantage of a deity. He was boundless, timeless and limitless.
“All things were made through Him, and without nothing was made that was made.” John 1.3
Every rock, plant and planet needs a stamp that Jesus made it.
The greatness of God is most clearly displayed in his Son. And the glory of the gospel is only made evident in his Son. That's why Jesus' question to his disciples is so important: "Who do you say that I am?"
The question is doubly crucial in our day, because [no one is as popular in the U.S. as Jesus]—and not every Jesus is the real Jesus. …
There's the Republican Jesus—who is against tax increases and activist judges, for family values and owning firearms.
There's Democrat Jesus—who is against Wall Street and Wal-Mart, for reducing our carbon footprint and printing money.
There's Therapist Jesus—who helps us cope with life's problems, heals our past, tells us how valuable we are and not to be so hard on ourselves.
There's Starbucks Jesus—who drinks fair trade coffee, loves spiritual conversations, drives a hybrid, and goes to film festivals.
There's Open-minded Jesus—who loves everyone all the time no matter what (except for people who are not as open-minded as you).
There's Touchdown Jesus—who helps athletes fun faster and jump higher than non-Christians and determines the outcomes of Super Bowls.
There's Martyr Jesus—a good man who died a cruel death so we can feel sorry for him.
There's Gentle Jesus—who was meek and mild, with high cheek bones, flowing hair, and walks around barefoot, wearing a sash (while looking very German).
There's Hippie Jesus—who teaches everyone to give peace a chance, imagines a world without religion, and helps us remember that "all you need is love."
There's Yuppie Jesus—who encourages us to reach our full potential, reach for the stars, and buy a boat.
There's Spirituality Jesus—who hates religion, churches, pastors, priests, and doctrine, and would rather have people out in nature, finding "the god within" while listening to ambiguously spiritual music.
There's Platitude Jesus—good for Christmas specials, greeting cards, and bad sermons, inspiring people to believe in themselves.
There's Revolutionary Jesus—who teaches us to rebel against the status quo, stick it to the man, and blame things on "the system."
There's Guru Jesus—a wise, inspirational teacher who believes in you and helps you find your center.
There's Boyfriend Jesus—who wraps his arms around us as we sing about his intoxicating love in our secret place.
There's Good Example Jesus—who shows you how to help people, change the planet, and become a better you.
And then there's the real Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God. Not just another prophet. Not just another Rabbi. Not just another wonder-worker. He was the one they had been waiting for: the Son of David and Abraham's chosen seed; the one to deliver us from captivity; the goal of the Mosaic law; Yahweh in the flesh; the one to establish God's reign and rule; the one to heal the sick, give sight to the blind, freedom to the prisoners and proclaim Good News to the poor; the Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world.
This Jesus was the Creator come to earth and the beginning of a New Creation. He embodied the covenant, fulfilled the commandments, and reversed the curse. This Jesus is the Christ that God spoke of to the Serpent; the Christ prefigured to Noah in the flood; the Christ promised to Abraham; the Christ prophesied through Balaam before the Moabites; the Christ guaranteed to Moses before he died; the Christ promised to David when he was king; the Christ revealed to Isaiah as a Suffering Servant; the Christ predicted through the Prophets and prepared for through John the Baptist.
This Christ is not a reflection of the current mood or the projection of our own desires. He is our Lord and God. He is the Father's Son, Savior of the world, and substitute for our sins—more loving, more holy, and more wonderfully terrifying than we ever thought possible.
But Paul’s headline in Philippians here is not that Jesus is the creator, it is Jesus as the incarnate one. The One who made everything made himself nothing.
Christ made himself small. He made himself dependent on lungs, legs and a larynx. He experienced thirst and hunger. He went through all the troubles of growing up just like we all did. His voice cracked during puberty. He was definitely a human.
When he was “full of joy” (Luke 10.21), His joy was real.
When He wept for Jerusalem (Luke 19.41),his tears were as real as yours and mine.
When he asked “how long must I put up with you?” (Matthew 17.17), his frustration was honest.
When he cried out from the cross, “My God why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27.46), He needed an answer. [Screen6]
Jesus took “the very nature of a servant” (Phil. 2.7).
He became like us so that he could serve us. [Screen 7]
He entered the world not to demand our allegiance but to display his affection.
Jesus did not view his equality with God as something to be used to his own advantage. He gave this advantage to us.
When people mocked and degraded Jesus he did not return the favor. When they called him crazy he didn’t strike them blind. He became [Screen 8]“obedient to death---even death on a cross.”
Crucifixion was the cruelest form of execution there was in the Roman Empire. The victim was tortured, whipped, nailed to a beam of wood and impaled with a spear. He was left naked and bloody, suspended for all to see. He became a public example of how society treats evildoers.
God was on that cross. God took the nails. God took the whips. God bore the shame. God exhaled a final breath.
Jesus came to be us one step at a time.
In nature, God—did not grasp the equality of God
Made himself nothing.
Took the form of a servant.
Submitted to death.
Even death on a cross.
Jesus came from heavens crown to Bethlehem’s cradle to Jerusalem’s cross.
It was one thing for Christ to enter the womb but quite another to enter the tomb.
But the tomb could not hold him! [Screen 9]
9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
The One who went low is now made high. The One who descended is now exalted. Jesus outranks every ruler and conqueror. He occupies the only true throne in the universe.
When we hear the name Donald Trump we listen. People pay attention. JFK, Napoleon, Alexander the Great are all names that we pay attention to.
But the only name that will cause all people to bow is Jesus. “At the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and earth and under the earth.”
There will be nowhere away from his power.
The poor. The rich. The black. The white. The politician. The physician. The rock star. The panhandler on the street. Every knee will bow to Jesus. And [Screen 10] “Every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord.
There are people who mock the name of Jesus. They renounce their need for a savior. They are self sufficient, independent, self made and self reliant. Ask them to bow to Jesus and they will laugh at you. But their day is coming. They will stand before God one day and answer the question of how they treated Jesus. [Screen 11]
Isaiah 45.24, They will say of me, ‘In the Lord alone
are deliverance and strength.’”
All who have raged against him
will come to him and be put to shame.
One ruler after another will step forward. Crowns will be collected at the feet of Jesus. So will all of our titles and recognitions we have earned. All will appear puny next to Jesus. No one will boast about anything they have done. Every Corvette will be seen as an oxcart. Nothing will matter. No one will matter. Only Jesus.
C.S. Lewis wrote this in one of his broadcasts:
God will invade…When it happens , it’s the end of the world. When the author walks on the stage the plays over…For this time it will be God without disguise, something so overwhelming that it will strike either irresistible love or irresistible horror into every creature. It will be too late to choose sides. It will be the time when we discover which side we have really chosen.
Nothing else will matter on that day.
On the Great Day you will hear billions of voices saying to Jesus, [Screen 12] “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Matthew 16.16
Those who worshipped him on earth will confess him gladly.
Those who didn’t will confess him regretfully.
I want to be with the first bunch.
Believers will receive their inheritance that will never perish, spoil or fade. Unbelievers will get their reward too: separation from Christ. Don’t be there.
Jesus has not given up his earthly body. He ascended with it still intact. He still has the incarnation that began in Bethlehem. God in the flesh is still with us. The one who oversees us now is the same one who used a carpenter’s hammer. He still has the scars to show his love for us.
Bow before him. Humble yourself before the One who humbled himself for you. It all started in a manger in Bethlehem.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Lucado, Max; Because of Bethlehem, Nashville Tn, Thomas Nelson, 2016
