Keeping Watch: One Divine Moment
John 1:14
Let’s Look at some Defining Moments in your life:
A Defining Moment is a moment that changes everything. Nothing will be the same for you from this moment on.
Some examples:
September 11, 2001
The Birth of a Child!
The moment the doctor told you…
When you said “Yes” to his marriage proposal!
When you received Jesus as your Savior!
When you receive the call telling you…
When your loved one died!
Today we are going to look at One Divine Defining Moment. Because of this moment, the world will never be the same:
John 1:14
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
(NIV)
Imagine with me what the moment was like when a young Jewish teenaged girl named Mary heard the Angel say:
Luke 1:31
31 You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.
(NIV)
Imagine what the moment was like when the righteous carpenter who is building a house for his bride to be heard the Angel say:
Matthew 1:20
"Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
(NIV)
Imagine what the moment was like when the shepherds keeping watch over lambs for sacrifice had their attention snatched away to the most amazing light show they had ever seen and the most fantastic choir concert they had ever heard, saying,
Luke 2:14
14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
(NIV)
Imagine what the moment was like when an evil king who thought he had it made heard some very important people say,
Matthew 2:2
"Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him."
Imagine what Joseph must have thought the moment he answered the door and saw all the pomp and circumstance and entourage with the Wise Men!
Imagine what it felt like the moment the old man, Simeon, saw the hope and consolation of Israel, wrapped in a baby’s blanket, consoled by his mother after being named and circumcised. Imagine what Mary felt when she heard Simeon say,
Luke 2:29-32
29 "Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace.
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation,
31 which you have prepared in the sight of all people,
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel."
(NIV)
Imagine what Joseph and Mary thought the moment they started to take Jesus back from Simeon, only to have an old woman, Anna, step in between them, take the baby and start parading all over the Temple telling everyone that at this very moment, they were looking into the face of the Messiah!
Max Lucado, in his book, “God Came Near”, lists some other Divine Defining Moments that could have happened in the life of Jesus, Joseph, and Mary:
-What was it like to pray in Joseph and Mary’s house, knowing that the One to Whom you were praying is sleeping under your roof?
-What effect did it have on Joseph and Mary when Jesus came home and said he had met a friend named Judas at school?
-At those special family events, what games did Jesus and his cousin John play? Did Mary and Joseph ever wonder what they did in the pool?
-When Jesus saw a lamb being led to slaughter, did He act funny?
-What did Mary and Joseph tell their natural children about their older brother, Jesus?
John 1:14
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
What God had been saying all along, is wrapped up in a package of flesh and bone.
Aren’t there just sometimes when you have to get involved yourself in order to get the job done? You may have asked others to do it for you, but they just can’t do the job the way you can. You have to personally get involved.
That’s just what Jesus did! He got personally involved. He had sent prophets to tell people what God had to say. But the people did not listen! He had to personally get involved!
Colossians 2:9
9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;
(NKJ)
Everyone should recognize that
Christmas is a
_______________________________ Moment!
But they didn’t:
John 1:10
10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.
(NIV)
They didn’t acknowledge him at all!
Dorothy Rodefeld is known in Madison, Wisconsin, as the "light lady" because of the elaborate Christmas displays she builds each year at her 19th century farmhouse. Last year, however, Dorothy’s nativity scene was robbed.
Among the missing items were a shepherd and a wise man. But it was the loss of baby Jesus and his manger that were particularly painful to the widow Rodefeld. Her grandson had built the manger out of wood salvaged from a granary dating back to the family’s original homestead.
"They pulled the light right out of Jesus," Rodefeld lamented, explaining how thieves had extricated the Savior from his settings. "That’s the one thing they took that really meant something to me."
What if Jesus were robbed from your Christmas? Would Christmas be any different for you, if Jesus were not present? Would you even notice His absence? Would you be like the people of Jesus’ day?
John 1:11
11 He came to that which was his own,
but his own did not receive him.
(NIV)
This is your Divine Defining Moment! Your world will never be the same because of this moment.
John 1:12
12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
(NKJ)
If we could condense all the truths of Christianity into only three words, it would be, “God with us”!
In one Divine, defining Moment, the Omnipotent, the One having all power, limited Himself by becoming flesh and blood. In one Divine, defining Moment, The Omnipresent, the One Who is larger than the universe became a microscopic embryo. And He who sustains the world with a word chose to be dependent upon the nourishment of a young girl.”
If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent an educator.
If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent a scientist.
If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist.
But since our greatest need was to know God, He came Himself!
This can be a Divine Defining Moment for you! Today you can receive Jesus as your savior. Welcome Him into your life today and from this moment on you will never be the same. Would you pray this prayer repeating after me:
Dear Jesus,
Thank you for coming into our world! Others may have rejected You. I will not. I open my life to receive You! Come into my life today! I believe in You with my whole heart! From now on I will never be the same. Thank you, Jesus.
If you prayed that prayer and meant those words, would you simply raise your hand?
