INTRODUCTION
Have you ever looked for something to only find that what you were looking for was right under your nose? TALK ABOUT SCREWDRIVER IN HAND.
This was the situation before the birth of Jesus. The world that Jesus was born into was a very religious world. The Jewish people were longing for the day that their messiah would appear and help them break the bonds of Roman rule.
World looked for Christ, the Messiah – He was to be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14)
He was to be a descendant of Abraham (Genesis 12:3)
He was to be of the house of David (Isaiah 11:1)
He was to be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2)
The Jews had the Old Testament prophecies. There were many people who felt that the Messiah was about to come at any moment.
There were 61 MAJOR and about 270 minor prophecies that were fulfilled in Jesus during His lifetime.
According to Peter Stoner in “Science Speaks”, the odds of one person fulfilling just 8 of those in their lifetime near impossible.
The eight used were- 1. His place of birth in Bethlehem. 2. John the Baptist ministry. 3. Jesus entering into Jerusalem on a donkey. 4. Betrayed by a friend. 5. Sold for 30 pieces of silver. 6. The money thrown into the house of God and then used to purchase a potters field. 7. Making no defense before His accusers. 8. Being crucified with His hands and feet pierced and being crucified between two thieves.
The odds of just these 8 would be like; (USE SILVER DOLLAR ILL 2 feet deep covering Texas, one marked. Blind fold, grab the right on the first try)
It was a tumultuous time; it was time for enrollment for the census. The Romans would call a census for two reasons, one for taxation purposes and secondly for compulsive military service. The Jews were exempt from the military service. This was a census for tax purposes.
GAL 4:4 But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law,
Because of the fact that all the Jews had to return to their place of birth, the cities were filled. No room in the inn – all places were filled.
When the long awaited Messiah came there was no room for Him.
He had to be born in a stable – barn – shed – laid in manger (feeding trough). This is not the way you would expect the Savior of the world to get His start.
The Messiah the nation of Israel was longing for had arrived, but they had no room for or no place for Him. What they were looking for was right before them, but they had no room for Him. What about today? Is it any different?
SERMON
I. THERE WAS NO ROOM FOR CHRIST
1. In Bethlehem – fled to Egypt (READ LUKE 2:1-7)
When Joseph and Mary were looking for a place for the Savior to be born, there was no room for them.
Within a couple of years, Jesus’ family had to flee to Egypt so that Herod would not kill Him.
It is interesting that in this Jewish town, they did not have room for the savior that they were looking for.
The people knew that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem. In Matthew 2, Herod gathered the Scribes and Chief Priests together to determine where the Messiah was to born, they knew it would be Bethlehem.
2. In Jerusalem or Judea (Matthew 2:12-23)
After the death of Herod, Joseph returned to Israel, but he did not return to Judea.
MAT 2:19-23 But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, and said, "Get up, take the Child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel; for those who sought the Child’s life are dead." So Joseph got up, took the Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Then after being warned by God in a dream, he left for the regions of Galilee, and came and lived in a city called Nazareth. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets: "He shall be called a Nazarene."
The religious capitol of the Jewish world did not have room for Jesus.
3. In Galilee (Matthew 13:53-58) Rejected at Nazareth
READ MATTHEW 13:53-58
Talk about how His hometown did not accept Him.
A hometown is usually a place where you can go for encouragement and security.
4. In Gadarenes (Matthew 8:28-34) Healed man – lost heard of swine
READ MATTHEW 8:28-34
Jesus heals two men from their demon possession and Jesus is asked to leave town.
5. In Samaria (Luke 9:51-56) Samaritans hated Jews (and vice versa)
READ LUKE 9:51-58
Jesus wanted to go to Judea, which is almost straight south of Galilee where He was. The quickest way was to go through Samaria. The Jews and Samaritans hated each other so the Jews would go east to avoid Samaria. Jesus was rejected in Samaria.
6. Jewish Nation (John 1:11) Came to his own – received him not
JOH 1:11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.
7. In the world (Matthew 8:20) Son of man has not where to lay his head
The world rejected Jesus.
8. Why did the world reject Him? This was a world; this was a nation that was eagerly looking for the Messiah.
a) Maybe He did not fit into their traditions. He stayed with the wrong people. (Matthew 9:9-11)
b) Maybe He did not fit their preconceived ideas. (Many wanted a military leader to release Israel from Roman rule)
c) Maybe He made the “righteous” people feel uncomfortable. (Clean the inside of the cup as well as the outside Matthew 23:26)
d) Maybe He made people look at themselves the way they really are. (Jesus was the perfect example, sinless- Hebrews 4:15)
II. TODAY – THERE IS STILL NO ROOM FOR CHRIST
1. In Society
Society is trying to eradicate itself of God. GWB Jesus example.
We are nation built on the foundation of Jesus, but society does not want anything to do with Jesus.
The ACLU is suing cities over Nativity scenes. They had removed God from Schools.
The New York City School system is sued by the Catholic League and the Thomas More Law center because the school system is allowing Jewish (Menorah) and Muslim religious symbols (star and crescent) but will not allow a Nativity scene during the CHRISTMAS holiday season or any other Christian symbols!
The Thomas More Law Center says it has in evidence a memo sent to teachers in the New York City public schools approving of the display of symbols related to the African-American cultural holiday of Kwanzaa. The Menorah and the Star and Crescent were also listed as acceptable, according to the memo, but no symbols of Christianity were mentioned
It is safe to say that there is not room for Jesus in society. At every turn, society is trying to push God out.
Why? Maybe the reason is the same as it was for the Jews. Jesus makes us look at ourselves as we are. People perceive Jesus as not allowing them to have fun; they think that Jesus equals slavery to boredom.
Maybe people just do not want to be accountable for their actions?
2. In many modern churches – ritual, ceremony, liturgy, teaching of men
Many Churches do not have room for Jesus.
Does the programming of the church reflect the mission that Jesus gave to His church? Some churches are just political entities. Some are just preaching a social gospel. Some are just fixated on taking care of themselves, with no heart for people outside the kingdom of God.
Does teaching of the church match the teaching of God’s word.
Maybe Jesus takes churches out of comfort zones, maybe it is easier to teach what people like instead of what people need.
Maybe it is easier for a church to ignore the mission of reaching the lost and replace that mission with keeping the doors open and looking nice.
3. In many homes – Bible, prayer, Christ, spiritual topics at dinner table
It is so easy to go through the day and get to the end of it and realize we have not spent anytime in the word or in prayer
Guilty! How much time do we spend in front of the television?
How much time do we spend in God’s word? How much time to spend in prayer? I am not saying you cannot watch television, but if you say you do not have time to read, study and pray, then maybe we should look at how we spend our time.
What are you talking about with your children? We wonder why our children do not grow spiritually.
WE do not have time for Jesus in the home.
Why? Maybe we are too involved with our own entertainment and work?
Is there room in your home for Jesus?
4. In many lives – Unclean thoughts, foul mouths, pornography
• There are many thing that society hits us with that put things in our mind that do not need to be there. What we listen to, read and watch has an effect on us.
• Proverbs 23:7 As a man thinks in his heart, so is he
• Proverbs 4:23 Keep thy heart, out of it are the issues of life
• 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.
• According to a 2000 study by the Barna Research Group, In a typical week, 60% of born again Christians attend church. (2000)
• Have things changed much over time? Is Jesus the center of your life?
CONCLUSION
The world was looking for the Messiah.
He came and He was rejected.
He came and there was no room for Him.
Has anything changed?
Jesus is knocking at the door of your heart, are you going to let Him in, are you going to make room for Him?
Jesus wants to be a part of our society, are we going to make room for Him?
Jesus wants to come into our churches, are we going to let Him in?
REV 3:20 ’Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.
Will you answer the door? During this Christmas season, make a commitment to put Jesus first in your life!
A woman named Daphne Harrington wrote the following devotion called:
No Room
In that day, there was no room for Mary and Joseph in the warm and
comfortable inn. No bed, no hot water. So Mary gave birth to Jesus in
a smelly, dirty stable without even clean sheets. She wrapped the
precious Son of God in strips of cloth and laid Him in a trough from which the
animals ate.
Today we seldom have room for Him in our lives. We are too busy working
hard to pay for our nice homes, cars, clothes, etc. to have room in our schedule for Him. We have room for meetings, for pleasure, for entertainment. In fact, we have so much room for these things that it leaves no room for Him.
Sometimes we even have room in our schedules to attend church. We dress
nice, look nice and smell nice. But, is there room for Him in our order of worship? It seldom varies, seldom makes us uncomfortable. Soon it is over and we go back to our nice warm homes.
Will Jesus have to look for another place and another person because I didn’t
have room? I don’t want to come to the end of my life and suddenly realize I never made room for Him, do you?
