This Christmas
(I pray you find this three things)
26In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” 29Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” 34“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” 35The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37For no word from God will ever fail.” 38“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
Luke 1:26-38
Christmas is always an awesome time of the year. As a kid, I could hardly wait and I would count down the days. It always seemed like it crawled forward slower than ever. It is so different now.....Christmas gets here so quickly! Remember as a child, You wanted to know so badly what is inside the present? You wanted to know what was in everyone's gift. Do you remember...we picked it up, shook it a little, gave it a little squeeze? We just had to know.
It's fun to know what you have given others, too. Isn't that a powerful feeling? Lol! "I know something you don't know." Maybe, we give a few hints but not enough for them to guess what is in the gift. Well, the angel Gabriel was dropping some serious hints about the first Christmas! And this Christmas, I pray you find what he was describing. I pray you find these three things:
I. THE MANGER
When Gabriel told Mary that Jesus: “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High” (Luke 1:32). He was describing the manger scene, he was describing the contents of the first Christmas. The baby Jesus away in the manger.
Let's remember, they lived in the days of Herod the king. Who was a foreigner imported from the Roman empire. There was really no room for the Christ child and barely any room for the people of God. They themselves had become the pilgrims and strangers. It is not much different for the Christian today. A Christian may seem like a foreigner in this world. We are reminded that we too are "Pilgrims passing through." How great it would be to find the manger again this Christmas. He was the Messiah then and he is the savior now!
Understand that before the Manger.....the House of David had sunk to an all time low! The Lineage of Christ was all but forgotten. But the revelation of the Star brought new hope to those who had waited for so long! The magi came to find him in that manger. And when they departed the infant king, they returned home down a different path. A pathway much different then their original direction. If we can visit the manger, in particular the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, we too, will have a change in our pathway!
So, I want to bring you HOPE today! Hope that what your worried about today, is going to be ok! Your family, children, finances, health in the hands of our Savior, it will all be alright. There was so much uncertainty in those days. Where is the lineage of David? Where is the promised Messiah? And out of no where, the star shined upon the wise men and shepherds! A light so bright, that darkness could not comprehend it! May that light shine out of the heavens today. May it continue to shatter the darkness! May lives continue to change before the presence of the king.
You remember the story: How Gabriel the Angel announced that John the Baptist would also be born, and he would be the forerunner of Christ. Now the father of John Baptist was a priest, a son of Aaron. His name Zacharias. Let me just say this, no families in the world were ever so honored of God as those of Aaron and David. Aaron's was made the covenant of priesthood and David's that of royalty. And here is the point.....their households had both forfeited that honor. Yet, the gospel again puts honor upon both in their latter days. The revival of the priesthood (Aaron's house) through the birth of John The Baptist. And the reinstitution of royalty
(David's house) through the birth of Christ! When you find this first gift, the contents of the manger, your house is going to be revived (life, family, marriage, finances, etc.) You are a royal priesthood and a chosen people! You are joint heirs, not only with Abraham's seed but also David's house!
....The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
Luke 1:32-33
II. THE WISDOM OF THE MAGI
10When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Matthew 2:10-11. I pray you too have a chance to worship him. I pray great overwhelming joy comes into your life. A joy that is not circumstantial. A joy that touches God. The kind of joy that only the Savior could bring.
Notice, what the Magi brought as gifts to the Messiah. 11.....Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Matthew 2:11. These Wise men resolved to seek till they should find the King. Oh how wise it is to seek the King! The star had left them for a great while, yet now returns. They follow God in the dark! Israel was led by a pillar of fire to the promised land. The wise men by a star to the promised Seed. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. We should be glad of every thing that will show us the way to Christ.
When they found the King they sought, they presented themselves first, and then their gifts, to him. Instead of it being a gift about the Savior, it was a gift to the Savior. Those gifts of gold, incense, and myrrh were present to the new King. Gold is the gift for a king. Jesus was born to be the King of Kings. He was to reign, not by force, but by love. Incense is the gift for a priest. It was used in the Temple when sacrifices were offered to God. Jesus was the Chief Priest. He opened the way to God for all men. Ultimately, we can now go boldly into the throne room of God. Myrrh is the gift for one who is to die. It was used to embalm the Savior (John 19:39). Even from birth, Jesus was born to die. These wise men knew in their hearts that there was something different about this King. A King that would die for His people!
III. THE EMPTY TOMB
The Magi who came to worship the Christ child, remind us that Christmas is linked to another day, another event. It is the primary Christmas gift, the best gift of all. This glorious day linked to an empty tomb in a garden. Linked to a hillside. Linked to a horrible cross. It is more precious than gold. Sweeter than incense. More powerful than myrrh. The tomb is meaningful, not because of what it was, but because of what it represents.
The tomb was borrowed. It was plain. It was cold. That tomb was created for a resident but was temporarily occupied by a pilgrim. Jesus Christ passed through that tomb. Left His grave clothes. He was gone....into hell snatching the keys away from hell, defeating the grave, taking the sting out of death! Resurrection power was bestowed upon him. Through our King and High Priest, we too, through baptism have resurrection power within us. A new kind of circumcision, one that is created in the heart without human hands but by His Spirit!
I've been given one of these tombs.....they put my father in one this year. Our first Christmas without him.
Many of you have love ones that have gone away. Reminding us of the pilgrims and strangers that we are destined to be.
But this tomb in the Garden.....it was at the spot that history changed (B.C to A.D). There in that place, satan was defeated. During that event, sin was paid for. True life was born. Christmas and Calvary go together. We can’t have one without the other.
closing: We have been given an incredible gift. Now it is time to open our hearts to receive that gift!
