The Miracle of Christmas
By Fernando Cabrera
Luke 1:1-80
1. Take away your Shame
a. We find that there was a private, silent, almost undetectable pain in the life of this precious couple Zecharias and Elizabeth – SHAME
i. 1:25 “This is the way the Lord has dealt with me in the days when He looked with favor upon me, to take away my disgrace among men”
b. Shame is a painful feeling, almost always felt privately in a public setting.
i. Shame is wanting to hide, or disappear.
1. The word shame is used 160 times in the bible, while the word guilt is used only 18 times
ii. The feeling ranges from a sense of mild embarrassment or a sense of complete cringing humiliation.
1. crawling under a rug
2. A mother is secretly ashamed that her son is a drug addict. A brother is quietly ashamed that his younger sister is very obese. A woman is ashamed of her mother’s drinking and cursing. A father is secretly ashamed that his eldest son is less than athletic, and his younger son is less than brilliant. An aunt is ashamed that her niece is in a wheel chair. A sister is ashamed that her brother is gay and wishes he wouldn’t ever talk about it, or mention his partner-in-life at the supper table during holidays. A parent is ashamed that a son or daughter is losing a job, or not doing well at work.. A famous doctor is ashamed that he has been married three times before age 35.. Suburban, well-to-do parents are ashamed of their son who is serving twenty years in prison. A man is ashamed to put on a bathing suit at the beach because he fears that he will hear comments that he looks like an ape. One woman is ashamed of her small bosom. A ten-year-old is ashamed he cannot understand his school work. A grandmother is ashamed that her 50-year-old daughter has married a 29-year-old man, a man younger than her eldest grandson.
a. Whenever anyone keeps a secret, then I’d say you’re awfully close to a living fountain of shame.
b. Shame disguises itself: anger, depression, anxiety, loud mouth, introvert…how does your shame disguises itself!
c. Shame give you A sense that we are flawed
d. there are two responses we can generally make to this kind of toxic build-up of shame:
i. one is to be less than who we are
1. letting in that little voice that told me over and over again I was a failure
2. Shame is the sense of "not measuring up."
ii. The other response is to try to be more than who we are, to be perfect, and to control all the circumstances around us as best we can so that everything can appear perfect
1. these are the people that are very careful how they speak, they calculate every movement, they dare to share their weakness, they can never say they are wrong
e. I can imagine those who had children would look at them and say, “No prophet or Messiah would come through this couple, since they have no child”
i. But God says, “It is not over until I say it is over”
1. I am here to tell you this morning that God is not finished with you yet
ii. But God said, “I am seldom early, but never late” …
f. TAKE NOTICE THAT ZECHARIAS WAS AT THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME.
i. The blessing flowed from God’s house to the man’s house
ii. face the pain instead of saving face
1. Many people don’t go to church because they are trying to save face
2. Shame isolate us from others
a. It is time to go to God’s house and have an experience with God
b. God is about to roll away your disgrace and shame this morning – First Miracle of Christmas
iii. Look at what God did for this man for seeking the Lord in God’s House
1. His Marriage became fruitful
a. This man had been carrying this pain in prayer
b. Some of you this morning, God is going to mend and heal your marriage
2. Your children will become forerunners of a new generation
a. They will no longer become followers, but leaders
i. John the Baptist was a true leader
g. Some will say, you don’t know my family tree: Take notice that in Jesus geneology in Matthew that one of his anscestors was Rahab, a prostitute. And Tamar, she had been raped. And the wife of Uriah, Bathsheba ... adulteress ... shame, shame, shame.
i. Jesus is going to restores your identity this morning
h. The biggest shame Christians have today is that they are not truly serving God will all of their hearts
i. Backslidding and Lukewarm
ii. Elizabeth was barren lacking children, today many are barren lacking spiritual children and lack of fruit in their lives.
1. God says today, “I will break your season of barreness today”
God loves us at least as much as the person who loves us the most. (1)
2. Take away your FEARS
a. Every time they met the angel, the message was the same
i. Zecharias “Do not be afraid, Zacharias,” Luke 1:13
ii. Mary “Do not be afraid, Mary” Luke 1:30
iii. Joseph, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid” Matthew 1:20
1. In each instance he calls them by name…”I know your situation, and I have a promise that will extinguish your fears”
b. Here we find the big difference between Zacharias and Mary reacted, one ask out of doubt and the other ask out of faith
i. Nothing pleases God the most than when you believe him, nothing hurts God the most then when you doubt him!
ii. Notice how he shut the mouth of Zacharias
1. Stop speaking doubt, where I have spoken promise
c. God is in control
i. When you think that the moon is just over 100 thousand miles away from the earth. And Pluto, the farthest planet in our solar system is nearly 10 billion miles away.
And traveling even farther, 50 billion miles from the earth is what scientist call Interstellar Space, and even it reaches distances impossible for us to imagine!
There you find the Proxima Centauri, the nearest star to our galaxy. It is just 25 trillion miles away! (Just a Sunday drive!) Just to reach that star by space travel traveling at the speed of light, it would take an entire human lifetime to get there!
And beyond that, we find what is known as Intergalactic Space, which is the space between galaxies. And beyond that, there is absolutely no ending!
Can you imaging a place where no human telescope can discover the contents of its black scape? A place where no human will ever go? Distances so vast and great that no human mathematical equation is ever going to measure it? And then to realize that God is bigger than that? Just the mere whisper of the voice of God created it all!
It wasn’t anything for God to structure this universe and everything we will ever discover about it. It was just not a big problem for God! He never even broke a sweat!
ii. This Christmas season, what do you fear?
1. financial problems (that is easy, stop spending), job situation, physical illness, your children, housing situation, your future, educational problems, rejection from a loved one, remembering the death of someone who die this time of the year, divorce, marriage, separation, injustice in the work place
iii. Every miracle has a promise: “For nothing will be impossible with God” (Luke 1:37)
1. He is going to remove your fear with faith
3. Take away your guilt
a. Even the most blessed among woman, humble servant named Mary, needed a SAVIOR
i. “And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior” (Luke 1:47)
ii. Falling short of God’s standard
b. YOU GOT TO HAVE THE RIGHT HEART TO RECEIVE THE RIGHT SAVIOR
i. “May it done to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38)
1. Today many say, “May it be done to me according to my word”
2. God is looking for a heart that says, “My life is all yours”
3. That is why many people do not receive their freedom, they hold back on God
4. When you totally surrender, you are totally forgiven
5. This morning he is going to remove your guilt with godliness
a. You are going to feel cleanse, but you must first confess your sin.
