Sermon- Are you thankful for Christ’s birth?
- Next week we begin Advent for the birth of Christ.
- So, today as part of Thanksgiving, I want us to think of how thankful we are for
Christ’s birth.
- We can always say I’m thankful that I don’t have to go to the priest, do sacrifices,
or even be under the Mosaic law, but that’s not the attitude I want us to dwell on
this morning.
- Let’s begin with Isaiah 9:6, & this verse will be our base for thanksgiving & looking
forward to Christ’s birth.
Isaiah 9:6
6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
- Isaiah, with the mood of thanksgiving tells us, unto us a Child is born.
Q- What does that mean to you?
Prayer
- Let’s take this verse apart now,
- I’m going to break this up into 6 parts.
- I want to cover two today, & do the next 4 over the course of Advent.
- Day 3 & 4 I will do together, because of our Cantata on the fourth day of
Advent.
Today
-A child is born. A son is given.
-The Government shall be upon his shoulders.
Day 1 * Hope
3. He will be wonderful.
Day 2 * Love
4. He will be counsellor.
Day 3 &4 *Joy
5. He will be mighty God.
* Peace
6. He will be Everlasting Father.
7. He will be Prince of Peace.
- In each one of these descriptions we find reason to be thankful.
1. The very first one, A Child is born, A Son is given.
- Listen to probably the most known, quoted, & memorized verse in scripture.
John 3:16
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
- There’s the truth, the good news.
- We have thanksgiving, & reason to rejoice because Christ was born, the second
member of the Trinity came to us, was fashioned like us, & lived amongst us.
- He, The Son of God, was given for us.
- He bore the penalty. He stepped in to rescue us from our own plight that
resulted in death!
- If I was about to be run over by a speeding bus, I’d be thankful if someone
jumped in, & pushed me out of harms way!
- Rejoice, give thanks, He fulfilled scripture & came for that which was lost.
Romans 5:1-2
1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
- This kind of act, that we trust in so greatly, is but a mystery to the Angels, & even the
prophets of old.
Q- How could God save one that is lost?
- Think of the Angels, 1/3 of the Angels followed Satan’s lead, & were cast out of the
third heaven with Satan.
- There is no redemption, or remedy for them!
- Their only destination will be bound in chains in darkness, & ultimately the lake
of fire.
- The Angels rejoiced at the time of Christ’s birth, because the time that was awaited
had come.
- There is a great difference between mankind, & Angels.
- Angels don’t have grace, mercy, or forgiveness, like we do!
1 Peter 1:10-12
10 Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:
11 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.
12 Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.
- Both The Prophets & The Angels looked forward to something they wanted to see,
but didn’t grasp how it would be, or the magnitude of what was coming.
- When the Babe was born, the full plan of God was placed upon Christ’s shoulders.
- It’s unthinkable, the future of my life rests upon whether this baby/child was
born.
* Rejoice, He was born, & the Son was given.
* Now Here’s the second part of it,
2. The Government shall be upon His shoulders.
- All The World rests on what Christ has done.
- With The mindset of eternal judgement, an eternity of torment.
Q- Do you give thanks that the authority that the laws have been removed?
- I know that’s a difficult question, because we immediately think that means
anything goes.
- That’s not the standard that God is presenting through Jesus.
- Instead He’s telling us the laws cannot save you, but I will.
- The government will be upon Him.
- It is His Job to bear the burden that we cannot.
- I can tell you right now I wouldn’t want to be a king, prime minister, or
president, because you’re responsible for the kingdom or nation, not just
one or two.
- That’s the weight of the government upon Jesus.
- Listen to Romans 6:8-10
Romans 6:8-10
8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
( Do you see a Kingdom bowing to the King saying, we salute you our king, for we
know you will lead us to victory?)
9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.
10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God
- Before Christ people based their lives around the laws, & the ritual of them.
- The laws pointed to the need for a Savior.
- The ritual/sacrifices only covered the sin for a season.
- That Government had to come to a close, & the King be revealed.
- Then, Jesus was born. The King has been revealed!
Romans 8:1-6
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
- The close of Thanksgiving, & the beginning of our Celebration for Christmas, looks
back at the way life used to be. It was tedious, & worrisome.
- Now we have hope, Love, Joy, & Peace Because of the One who came & saved us
- The journey of life is filled with searching for answers, & something that will
make us feel complete, or give us peace.
- The Magi searched from 400 miles away & over a month to a month & a half for
Jesus. When they found Him, Listen to their response.
Matthew 2:11 - The Magi bowed
11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.
- We look forward, with thanksgiving, to the celebration of Christmas, but the reason
we look forward is because we have bowed to the King who’s government we are
part of.
> The folly of clinging (http://www.rogerdarlington.me.uk/stories.html)
The little boy walked slowly into the room where his mother was sitting at her desk writing. She glanced down at him and saw that he was carrying a very precious vase that her grandmother had given her. Almost absentmindedly she said to him, “Robert, go put the vase down before you drop it and break it.”
“I can’t,” he replied, “I can’t get my hand out.”
“Of course you can,” she said, “you got it down there.”
He said, “I know, mom, but it won’t come out.” The neck of the vase was very narrow and his hand had fit it neatly inside and it was now up to his wrist. He continued to insist that he could not get it out. Growing a little concerned, his mother called out to his dad.
Dad calmly took control and began gently pulling the arm trying to extract the hand from the vase. He tried loosening it up with soapy water. Still nothing. He then got some vegetable oil from the kitchen and poured it around the wrist and let it seep into the vase. He wiggled it some. It still did not budge.
“I give up,” the dad said in desperation. “I’d give a dollar right now to know how to get it out.”
“Really?” little Robert exclaimed. Then they heard a clinking sound and his hand slid right out of the vase. They turned the vase upside down and a penny plopped out. “What’s this?” they said in unison.
“Oh, that’s the penny I put inside. I wanted to get it out so I was clutching it in my hand. But when I heard Dad say he would give a dollar to have the vase free, I let go.”
How often do we cling to things when they are nothing in comparison to what could be ours?
- This little boy shows us what the difference is between the old covenant & the New.
- The Old, While gleaming with value, wasn’t all that God wanted to give us.
- God offers to us far more than we had first thought, but we have to let go of the
former in order for Him to give it to us.
* Christ has all the Government upon Him, will you submit to Him & allow Him to do His
work?
