Christmas -
Christmas -
Angels and Wisemen - Shepherds and trees,
Won’t someone tell me the reason Please,
I’ve listened to Buskers and stood in long queues,
Shoppped till I dropped into my weary old shoes,
I’ve bought Coca cola and heard a Christmas Cantata,
Went to a Santa Parade and heard old Frank Sinatra,
Then there’s the old red and white guy an icon for kids,
Him, the presents the reindeer and the sleigh on the skids,
But when I look at the manger - at the shepherds and hay,
There is something more here that makes christmas day,
There is something that’s found in the little quiet Child,
who alone can make God and the world reconciled,
As I glance at the scene through that old stable door ,
Then my logic declares I need to know more.
Today we celebrate Christmas.
What we seek to do today is to celebrate the something more of Christmas.
The x factor if you like.
In Luke chapter 2 we read of some Shepherds and some angels
lets read it together
read from verse 8 - 20.
At the end of this passage we read that - the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
In this passage these shepherds moved from terror to glorifying and praising God.
Why because in between the discovered the X factor of Christmas.
(When i preached this sermon I used two x’s one that made the manger and one that made the cross.
I put these on overhead projection masters as an illustration of where the heart of the x factor lies. )
Lets journey through this passage together to discover just what it was that bought such wonder to these shepherds.
In Scene one of this real life drama we have some shepherds living out in the fields close to Bethlehem.
They were tough outdoors men used to the rugged out doors life.
for them there were no Toyota High luxes or three wheelers - there were also many nights spent out in the open watching their sheep protecting their livelihoods from wild beasts thieves and any other dangers.
I guess in such an environment - in the atmosphere of the reliable - the tried and true - the feel good factor must have been quite high.
sometimes in life it is like that you feel nothing could knock you off your pedestal.
Then in some amazing way God shows up and reminds you of your vulnerability - your mortality - your utter dependence of him.
If you’ve ever been caught in a lightening storm on your own you understand this.
Earthquakes for some have this effect.
For others death or tragedy or shame - change your whole relationship with God.
At that point what you thought was important is no longer important and in such an environment knees turn to jelly and hearts turn to God.
Strangely though there is no credit to those who can steel themselves through such times - reserve pity not admiration for such people for they are missing God’s second chance opportunities in life.
Such special moment only come a few times during the average lifetime.
How we can respond can change the world.
God speaks in a myriad of ways :
In 1966 Nien Cheng a wealthy industrialist in China was bought before a tribunal and was tried as an imperialist spy even though she was innocent.
She was taken to prison and locked into a small, damp cell.
One day encouragement came from an unexpected source.
A pea sized spider crawled through the rusty bars and climbed towards the ceiling. Suddenly the spider swung out on a silken thread, attached the strand to the base of the bar and spun another, then another, weaving a web of intricate beauty, "I had just watched an architectural feat by an extremely skilled artist." Nien Cheng wrote. "My mind was full of questions. Who had taught the spider to make the web? Could it really have acquired the skill through evolution, or did God create the spider and endow it with the ability to make the web so that it could catch food and perpetuate its species?"
"I knew I had witnessed something that was extraordinarily beautiful and uplifting. I thanked god for what I had just seen. It helped me see that He was in control. Mao Zedong and his revolutionaries seemed much less menacing, I felt a renewal of hope and confidence."
A renewal of hope and confidence bought about by a spider who pointed to God.
Alexander Solzhenitsyn was a prisoner in Russia.
he was on a program of hard labour and slow salvation.
One day he felt like giving up.
He felt his life could not make a difference.
He sat down on a bench knowing that when he was spotted by a guard he would be ordered back to work when he failed to respond the guard would bludgeon him to death. As he sat waiting, head down, he felt a presence. slowly he lifted his eyes. Next to him sat an old man with a wrinkled, utterly expressionless face. Hunched over, the old man drew a stick through the sand at Solzhenitsyn’s feet deliberately tracing out the sign of the cross.
As Solzhenitsyn stared at the rough outline his entire perspective shifted.
Yet in that moment, he knew that the hope of all mankind was represented by that simple cross - and through its power anything was possible.
Solzhenitisyn slowly got up , picked up his shovel and went back to work - not knowing that his writings on truth and freedom would one day enflame the whole world.
Such a moment arrived for the three shepherds - we read -
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them and they were terrified. But the Angel said to them "Do not be afraid. I bring you news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a saviour has been born to you: he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths in a manger.
God spoke clearly into the shepherds lives in such a way that their lives would never be the same again.
As a result of their positive response to God speaking into their lives - they have helped millions understand the message that Jesus bought.
As you respond positively to those God moments in your life - you too can be an agent of change to a broken world.
The second thing that the shepherds did is they allowed the words God spoke into their life through the appearance of the angel to filter through to their actions.
They went off and did what they had heard God instruct them to do.
They went into Bethlehem and saw this wonderful scene of Mary and Joseph in the Stable and the Baby Jesus lying in the manger.
What they gained a glimpse of that day was one of the most remarkable scenes ever seen on planet earth - it was the moment that God came to live amongst us - it was an unheard of impossibility that God had warned of through many prophets for many hundreds of years.
These Shepherds had, all their lives heard and learned about God - but here in the stable they met with God in person = they looked into the face of their origins and they looked into the face of hope when they looked into the manger.
Up until then their knowledge of God had come through other people
but here they met with God in person.
Seven hundred years before God had predicted this:
"The day will come," says the Lord, "when I will make a new covenant [agreement/contract]
with the people of Israel and Judah. It won’t be like the one I made with their fathers when I
took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt -- a contract they broke, forcing
me to reject them," says the Lord. "But this is the new covenant I will make with them: I will
inscribe my laws upon their hearts, so that they shall want to honor me; then they shall truly
be my people and I will be their God. At that time it will no longer be necessary to admonish
one another to "know the Lord." For everyone, both great and small, shall really know me
then," says the Lord, "and I will forgive and forget their sins. Jeremiah 31:3134TLB
God did not only make that personal contact with God available to these shepherds who it seems had a primary task of being witnesses to the event of Jesus’ birth but he has also made it possible for everyone to know him - the words Jeremiah uses are;-
For everyone, both great and small, shall really know me then,
Jesus in His ministry makes it obvious that a personal relationship with him is possible.
The last recorded words of Jesus in the gospels at the end of Matthew are
"Lo I am with you always to the end of the age."
He also said during His ministry - Come to me all you who are tired and heavy laden and I will give you rest.
Jesus also makes it clear that he will be present to us because he is the only way by which sinful men and woman can relate to God -
In John chapter 14 verse 6 he says: I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me. If you really knew me you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.
The baby Jesus then ushers in incredible new possibilities -
He also is present to us in the person of the Holy spirit -
I will send another comforter to be with you.
In Revelation chapter 3 and V: 20 Jesus says, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any
man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me."
Jesus makes it clear that the fleeting encounter that the Shepherds have with him in Bethlehem is available to those who believe in him on a permanent basis .
The twin questions that asks of us are:
Have I taken advantage of the relationship that God holds out to me in Jesus and if I have
Have I allowed that relationship to develop and to grow to a great depth?
If you have you will be continuing to grow and develop in your faith.
You will be as the bible puts it - a new creation.
I found an interesting illustration the other day where the author was talking about the promise in Ezekiel 36:26 where God promises:-
""I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you" Ezekiel 36:26
THE SAILBOAT WATERLINE
In 1992 a sailor called Michael Plant took his boat "Coyote" from the United States to France.
He was an able and respected sailor who put his boat together with incredible technology. It had
every luxury and every gadget for a problem-free trip. Even a satellite-linked radio.
But eleven days into the journey all radio contact stopped and the search party eventually found
his boat upside down. The life boat was still attached and Michael Plant himself was never found.
The simple cause of the tragedy was not enough weight below the waterline.
This story is a perfect update of the biblical principle that to win the visible world but lose the
invisible soul is the greatest mistake of all. All sensible people look ahead and the bible looks into eternity for its perspective and its solutions.
The Question that asks of us is have we grasped the promise that is in the manger?
The Shepherds did and that is borne out by the third point of this look at Luke’s commentary on Jesus’ birth:
Read from verse 16 through 20.
There are three responses here that we should see some signs of in our own lives if in fact we have responded to the gift God gave us who is Jesus.
One the Shepherds spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child.
When you have encountered Jesus you will want to tell others - that has been the natural response of all who have encountered the gospel - the Shepherds were told that Jesus was the saviour and they told others.
Why because they encountered him.
Out of your encounter with Christ there will be a growing passion to do the same thing.
Secondly we are told Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.
What are we treasuring in our hearts?
God holds out for us Jesus and encourages us - here is the most important thing - this is your lifesaver.
The man in the yacht paid heed to his provisions and environment in his boat but he forgot about the ballast - he went light on it and it cost him his life.
What are we paying attention to - our cabin comforts or completing the journey with God?
Thirdly - The Shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
These Shepherds had just been part of the most set of circumstances.
They had met with an angel from God - they had obeyed his instructions and it had led them to Jesus the son of God - everything the angel said - fitted - they knew that in Jesus salvation had come to the world and they left rejoicing and praising God.
Knowledge of what God has done for us should always lead to worship to Glorifying God.
We need to sing God’s praises for what he has done - we need to do that from Glad and happy hearts -
This Christmas morning let us rejoice in what God has done for us personally and for the World - and out of that rejoicing let us go and spread the word wherever we can and to treasure these things in our hearts.
Let us pray.
From jgullick@xtra.co.nz
feel free to comment.
