There Was No Room At The Inn

There was no room at the inn!

Luke 2:7

Dec. 17th 2006

Pastor Lorenzo Edwards

As you all know December is the time that we have set aside to remember the birth of our Lord and Savoir Jesus Christ.

No one knows the exact day when Jesus was born. But December 25, the date assigned to remember the birth, was introduced to counter the pagan feast of the sun god—the popular winter solstice festival held in Rome—the birthday of the Invincible Sun. This was a significant celebration in the cult of Mithras, the Persian god of light who was often identified with the sun. Long before the birth of Christ ancient people living in the Northern Hemisphere, observing the disappearance of the sun, expressed their fears in annual superstitious rituals.

The Christian celebration was intended to be a theological corrective. The season was chosen to recognize and proclaim that Christ was born into a dark world and that he is the true source of light. Christians wanted to mark the birth of the Son of God, who is the Light of the World, at a time when others were celebrating the mystery of the physical light coming back into the dark sky. The observance was intended to draw people away from superstition and myth and to help them focus on the deeper truth.

The theological corrective and observance of the birth of Jesus did not happen immediately after his life and death. For three hundred years after the ascension of Jesus to heaven, people remembered his death and resurrection. It was not until the early part of the fourth century that Christians felt a need to honor the birth of the Savior. In keeping with Old Testament feasts and festivals, it was designated a feast day, called the Feast of the Nativity. And Nativity means birth or origin: a place of being born.

The celebration featured a special mass in honor of the remembrance of his coming. It was thus called Christ’s Mass and became known later as simply Christmas. This in itself is significant, for it was Christ who was being celebrated. And as I look around our world today I have to wonder. Who are they celebrating. Have people forgotten the reason for the season. Do they really know that Christ is the answer? Do they know that happiness is not what they give or what they receive because God gave the only and most perfect gift of all he gave us his only begotten son. Jesus of Nazareth.

America has forgotten the real meaning of this special season. This season was not designed to put ourselves in depth. This was not designed to run up credit cards and buy things that we can not afford. And still be paying for Christmas gift in March of the next year. This season was not created to shop to you drop but it was designed to remember the birth of Jesus Christ.

I was shocked when I read the survey that was performed by Netdoctor.com.

When people was ask do Christmas make them depressed more than 57 per cent replied that it often or always does. And listen to the top reasons why Christmas make people depressed.

Reasons

The reasons for people disliking Christmas are varied. Top hates are:

Christmas has become too commercial.

a feeling that everyone is having a better time than you.

spending far too much money.

Other dislikes are:

eating too much I got the answer to that stop eating so much. Just because it is there that don’t mean you got to eat it all up.

Christmas parties

it makes you miserable

If people will focus more on what God has done for them besides what they can give to some one for a gift we will not have so many depressed people in this world. If they just remember that GOD gave the greatest gift of all. I don’t care how much money a person have we can never repay God for Jesus. Jesus is the reason for the season.

And as we go to our text we will find the real reason for this season

Luke gives us in detail the birth place of Jesus Christ. As we all know that Jesus was born in Bethlem. This was prophesiahed in the book of Micah 5:2 that the coming Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.

Micah 5:2

" yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting."

Many has wondered why there was no room for Mary and Joseph and our soon coming King Jesus Christ. Well Caesar August made a decree that all shall be taxed. And so many made the journey to Bethlem to pay there part of there taxes. And in Mary’s condition the journey would be a slow one, and as they arrived, the inn would be fully occupied. I am sure Joseph had to stop a few times to rub the feet of Mary. And by me being married and seeing my children born and had been through all the stages of pregnancy. I am sure Joseph had stop somewhere and get some pickles and ice cream. Do any of the men here no what I am talking about. There was many night where I had to get up in the middle of the night because my wife has a craving for some crazy combination of food. And Lord don’t let me mention the morning sickness.