Christmas
Day 2016
For Liberty Christian Centre 25/12/2016
Christmas
Day 2016
Happy
Christmas everybody. Feliz Navidad
Today we
are celebrating the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. The day that light came
into the world.
Now I know that
some of you will say that Jesus was not born in December but today is the day
that we are celebrating His birth I’d rather celebrate His birth on the wrong
day than not celebrate it at all.
Most people
enjoy celebrating and today they seem to celebrate wildly for the most mundane
of reasons. But we have a really good
reason to celebrate.
We are
celebrating the birth of our saviour. I hate to think what the world would be
like if He had never been born.
Traditionally
when you go to church on Christmas day, people read out the story of the birth
of Christ and that is what I am planning to do today.
The story
of the birth of Christ really begins at the beginning of time when Adam and Eve
sinned and the need for a saviour was born. We first see the birth of Christ
mentioned in Genesis chapter 3.
The devil
had deceived Eve, Eve persuaded Adam and both did exactly what God told them
not to do – eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
It may seem
like a minor thing they did wrong. After
all, we’ve all probably been just as disobedient if not worse. Yet the consequences of Adam’s sin was
enormous.
It allowed
sin to enter into the world and the world was condemned.
Sickness,
disease, wars, abuse, persecution, death and every form of evil came into the world at that time.
As a result
of her part in the sin, Eve was condemned to a subservient life with painful
childbirth.
Adam was
condemned to a life of hard labour.
And the
snake to a life crawling on its belly.
In the
middle ages, the church used to celebrate 24th December as Adam and
Eve day. In Germany, they would
celebrate by putting on a play about creation.
There would be a big evergreen tree on which they hung bright red
apples. The play would end with God’s
promise of a savior from Genesis
3.15 when God said to
the devil;
“And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel."
And so the
birth of Christ was first prophesied 4,000 years before His birth.
God gave
some very detailed prophecies about Christ’s birth such as;
· He would be of Abraham’s lineage. (Genesis 22:18)
· He would come through Isaac’s line, Jacobs line, Judah’s line (Gen 17.19, 28.13-14, 49.10)
· In 713 B. C. it was told that the child would be of Jesse’s family line also, (Isaiah 11:1.)
· It was prophesied that He would be a descendent of King David. (Is 9.6-7,Jeremiah 23:5-6) and Solomon (2 Sam 7.12-17)
If we were to read the genealogies in Matthew or
Luke we will find that all these prophecies were fulfilled in Jesus.
In “Isaiah 7:14 (NKJV) there was a prophecy that the messiah would be born of a virgin;
14
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the
virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.
Luke 1:26-35 (NKJV)
26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a
city of Galilee named Nazareth,
27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the
house of David. The virgin's name was Mary.
28 And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly
favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!"
29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and
considered what manner of greeting this was.
30 Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you
have found favor with God.
31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son,
and shall call His name JESUS.
32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and
the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.
33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His
kingdom there will be no end."
34 Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do
not know a man?"
35 And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit
will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you;
therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.
Now, some people will
deny that Mary was a virgin because if they admit she was a virgin then they
have to also admit that Jesus is the Son of God.
I have studied the
word of God about this and it is clear that the Greek word “Parthenos” that is
used here, describes a virgin. And we
know from Mathew 1.18 that Joseph could not be the father. So please be in no doubt, Jesus is the Son of
God and the Virgin Mary. Mary did later
have children from her husband Joseph but at this stage she was still a virgin.
Isaiah foretold that the child would be God in the flesh.
As in Isaiah 7:14which we have just read and
Isaiah 9:6 (NKJV)
6
For
unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be
upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty
God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Mathew 1 22-25 So all this was done that it might be
fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying:
23 "Behold, the
virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name
Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us."
24 Then Joseph, being aroused
from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his
wife,
25 and did not know her till
she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name JESUS.
My favourite quote that Jesus is God is from the apostle Thomas who first doubted that Jesus had been raised from the dead but after he had met Him and examined Him declared Jesus to be ‘My Lord and my God”.
Jesus is Immanuel, God with us and He is still with us today.
Micah
prophesied that He would be born in Bethlehem;
Micah 5:2 (NKJV)
2
"But
you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of
Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in
Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting."
Luke 2:1-5 (NKJV)
1
And
it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar
Augustus that all the world should be registered.
2
This
census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria.
3
So
all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.
4
Joseph
also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city
of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of
David,
5
to
be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child.
When we
think of the inn, we think of a hotel.
The word translated as "inn" is the word kataluma, which is used elsewhere
by Luke and translated as "guest chamber" or "upper room" (Luke 22:11; cf. Mark 14:14). When Luke wants to speak of a paid
establishment (i.e., an inn), he uses a different Greek word, pandocheion, as in the Good
Samaritan . So it seems more likely
that as they had travelled to Bethlehem because that is where their families
were from. They may have possibly been
turned away by their own family and not
an inn keeper.
Luke
2:6-7 (NKJV)
6
So
it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be
delivered.
7
And
she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid
Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
David
tells us in Psalm 148:1-2 (NKJV) that
the angels shall praise Him.
“Praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD from the heavens;
Praise Him in the heights! Praise Him,
all His angels; Praise Him, all His hosts!”
Luke
2:8-14 (NKJV)
8
Now
there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping
watch over their flock by night.
9
And
behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone
around them, and they were greatly afraid.
10
Then
the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good
tidings of great joy which will be to all people.
11
For
there is born to you this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the
Lord.
12
And
this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling
cloths, lying in a manger."
13
And
suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God
and saying:
14
"Glory
to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!"
God’s message from the angels was that they came to
bring good tidings of great joy to all people.
That is to say good news to everyone.
And they said peace on earth good will to all men.
Jesus always gave glory to God and He came to bring
peace. In John 14 Jesus said;
John 14:27 (NKJV)
Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as
the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let
it be afraid.
And the will of God to all men is
good will. He loves the world so much
that He gave us His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not
perish but have eternal life. That’s good news.
His will towards you is good. No
matter who you are or what you have done.
He came to save you, He did not come to condemn you.
You may say that you are such a bad
person, you’ve done this or that, but the only sin that condemns you is not
believing in His son Jesus. Anything else you can work on with Him by your side
to overcome. But you just have to start
by believing in Jesus.
That is why Jesus was born.
There is a Jewish tradition (revealed in writings called the Mishnah), that the Messiah would be revealed from the Migdal Eder ("the tower of the flock"). This tower stood close to Bethlehem on the road to Jerusalem, and the sheep that pastured there were the sheep meant for sacrifice in the temple.
Jesus being the good shepherd it seems appropriate that the shepherds should come and worship Him.
Luke
2:15-20 (NKJV)
15
So
it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds
said to one another, "Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that
has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us."
16
And
they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger.
17
Now
when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told
them concerning this Child.
18
And
all those who heard it marvelled at those things which were told them by
the shepherds.
19
But
Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.
20
Then
the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that
they had heard and seen, as it was told them.
According to the law, Mary had to present herself for purification which was a ceremony by which a new mother of a son was declared clean again (see Lev. 12:6). The ceremony took place 40 days after the birth and the mother could offer a lamb or two pigeons. Jesus' family chose the pigeons (v. 24), suggesting that they did not have or could not afford to buy an animal. Perhaps because they had travelled so far from their home in Nazareth.
This trip also included the presentation of the firstborn son to God (see Ex. 13:2, 12; Num. 18:6; 1 Sam. 1; 2).
By following these practices, Mary and Joseph show they were faithful Jews who kept the requirements of the Law.
Luke
2.21-24
21
And
when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was
called JESUS, the name given by
the angel before He was conceived in the womb.
22
Now
when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed,
they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord
23
(as
it is written in the law of the Lord, "Every male who opens the womb
shall be called holy to the LORD"),
24
and
to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, "A
pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons."
Now the Holy Spirit had revealed to a man called Simeon that he would see the messiah before he died. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, Simeon prophesies that Jesus would also be the saviour of the gentiles as well as the Jews. He also prophesies that it would cause grief to His mother Mary.
Luke
2.15-35
25
And
behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was
just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was
upon him.
26
And
it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death
before he had seen the Lord's Christ.
27
So
he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the
Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law,
28
he
took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said:
29
"Lord,
now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, According to Your word;
30
For
my eyes have seen Your salvation
31
Which
You have prepared before the face of all peoples,
32
A
light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel."
33
And
Joseph and His mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of Him.
34
Then
Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, "Behold, this Child
is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which
will be spoken against
35
(yes,
a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many
hearts may be revealed."
There was also a prophetess called Anna. We tend to think that women were not allowed to take part in these things but there are many examples in the bible of women being leaders and prophets such as Deborah, Miriam, Philip’s daughters and Paul refers to Priscilla, Phoebe, Eudias and Junia.
Luke 2.36-40
36
Now
there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of
Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from
her virginity;
37
and
this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart
from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.
38
And
coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all
those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.
39
So
when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they
returned to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth.
40
And
the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace
of God was upon Him.
Psalm 72:10 (NKJV) says
10
The
kings of Tarshish and of the isles Will bring presents; The kings of Sheba and
Seba Will offer gifts.
We always
assume there were three kings or wise men but we do not really know how many
there were. All we know is that there
were three different types of gifts.
Scholars are not sure whether to call them kings, wise men or magi.
Isaiah 60 talks about kings coming to the brightness of His rising and camels
bringing gold and incense. Whoever they were, they were led by God.
Matthew 2:1-12
(NKJV)
1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod
the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem,
2 saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we
have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him."
3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with
him.
4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the
people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
5 So they said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is
written by the prophet:
6 'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, Are not the least among the
rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people
Israel.' "
7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from
them what time the star appeared.
8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully
for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I
may come and worship Him also."
9 When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which
they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where
the young Child was.
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.
11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with
Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened
their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
12 Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to
Herod, they departed for their own country another way.
Now we come
to a distressing part of the story.
Herod commands all baby boys under 2 to be killed;
Jeremiah 31:15 (NKJV)
15 Thus says the LORD: "A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation
and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted
for her children, Because they are no more."
Rachel’s
name, in this prophecy, is usually associated with Bethlehem, by the fact that
her tomb was in that neighborhood and says she is weeping for the babies that
have been killed.
Mathew 2.13-17
13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to
Joseph in a dream, saying, "Arise, take the young Child and His mother,
flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the
young Child to destroy Him."
14 When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and
departed for Egypt,
15 and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled
which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, "Out of Egypt I
called My Son."
16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men,
was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children
who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under,
according to the time which he had determined from the wise men.
17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet.
Hosea 11:1 (NKJV)
1
"When
Israel was a child, I loved him, And out of Egypt I called My son.
Mathew 2.19-21
19 But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a
dream to Joseph in Egypt,
20 saying, "Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to
the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child's life are dead."
21 Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the
land of Israel.
Herod was not a nice man. He is also recorded as having had 40 Jews killed for worshipping at the temple just before he died. It is believed that he probably died a painful death just 1 to 3 years after Christ’s birth
Of course, we know that Jesus was also from Nazareth.
Isaiah 11:1 (NKJV)
1
There
shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of
his roots.
When Isaiah
spoke of Jesus as “the Branch,” he used the word “Neh-tzer, meaning “the
separated one” or “the Nazarene.”
Nazareth was looked upon with scorn. Even Nathanael asked,
“Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46).
Mathew 2.22-23
22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of
his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a
dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee.
23 And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be
fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, "He shall be called a
Nazarene."
So there we have the story of the birth of our Saviour Jesus
Christ. Several times in this account, the
bible tells us that Mary pondered or marvelled at these things in her
heart and she had a lot to ponder, the visitation of the angels, being chosen
by God, her husband’s loyalty, the journey to Bethlehem, the miraculous birth,
her new baby, the shepherds, the words from Simeon and Anna, the visit of the
kings, the flight to Egypt and the hope for the future for her Son and for the
world.
As we celebrate Christmas maybe we should ponder these things too.
I was
brought up in the era of the cold war.
The news was always full of stories about spies and of course James Bond
became the number one movie.
We were
paranoid about the Russians stealing our secrets so they could build a bomb
that would destroy us.
It seems that
every week there were stories of people who had been arrested for spying and of
course we knew we had our own people spying on Russia too.
Near where
I lived was a Government Secret Scientific Establishment. It was so secret it was not allowed to appear
in any public documents or maps. But I
know it was a Secret Scientific Establishment because outside was a huge sign
that said Secret Scientific Establishment!
But God
doesn’t have secrets.
He never
kept His plans for the salvation of man secret.
Right from the beginning of Genesis and throughout the old testament He
declared His plans for the birth, life, death, and resurrection of His
Son. He published His plans for all to
read.
There are more than 300 Messianic prophecies in the Old Testament that
were fulfilled through Jesus' life, death and resurrection. Such as;
·
He
would enter Jerusalem on a donkey’s colt (Zechariah 9:9).
·
He
would be betrayed by a friend (Psalm 41:9).
·
He
would be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:12).
·
The
money would be used to buy the potter’s field (Zechariah 11:13).
·
The
Messiah would die a sacrificial death for us (Daniel 9:26;
Isaiah 53:8).
·
He
would die with criminals but His burial would be with the wealthy (Isaiah 53:9).
·
He
would be mocked, and people would gamble for His clothes (Psalm 22:1, 8, 18).
·
He would be “despised and rejected of men” (Isaiah 53:3, cf. Psalm 22:6; Daniel 9:26; Zechariah 12:10).
·
And
of course, He would rise from the dead (Psalm 16:8–11;
Isaiah 53:10).
Mathematicians say that the chances of one person fulfilling just eight
of these messianic prophecies are one in a hundred quadrillion that’s 1
followed by 16 zeros. And Jesus fulfilled over 300.
The devil is a thief
and a liar. He sneaked in through the
back door and deceived Eve. The world had been given to Adam but Satan came in
to steal, kill and destroy.
Jesus came into the
world through the front door. He came to
give us life and life more abundantly. He was announced and whilst His
conception was supernatural, His birth was quite natural.
God had
told the world everything that would happen to Jesus, how he would be born,
where he would be born, where he would go.
Everything about His life and death.
Satan knew
God’s plan and yet he was powerless to stop any of it.
Satan tried
to kill Moses but he was powerless to stop God’s plan.
Satan tried
to stop Israel leaving Egypt but he was powerless to stop God’s plan.
Satan tried
to kill David but he was powerless to stop God’s plan.
Many times,
Satan tried to get rid of Paul but he was powerless to stop God’s plan.
Satan even
tried to kill Jesus when he was a baby but he still couldn’t stop God’s plan.
Satan did
kill Jesus when he was an adult but he was still powerless to stop God’s plan.
We have not
kept God’s plans for this church secret.
We publish our vision and mission, they are freely available. We openly tell everyone what we want to do. Satan knows what they are and yet he is
powerless to stop it. He tried to stop this church but he failed because he is
powerless to stop God’s plans.
Satan’s
power is zero
God is the
all powerful, all knowing, all seeing, almighty God.
And that’s the
power we have in the name of Jesus.
God has a
plan for the salvation of man,
God has a
plan for the church.
God has a
plan for this church.
God has a
plan for me.
God has a
plan for you.
Maybe you
already know something of His plan for your life, maybe you don’t.
But
whatever it is, Satan is powerless to stop it unless he can convince you not to
do it. All he can do is try to persuade
you not to go ahead with it.
Today we
celebrate God’s plan for the salvation of man.
The birth of the one whose name even means ‘Jehovah saves’.
Why don’t
we all stand and make a confession of our faith in Christ Jesus? Repeat after me;
· I believe that Jesus is the Son of
God
· I believe He was born of the virgin
Mary and the Holy Spirit.
· I believe that He died on the cross
for my sins.
· I believe He rose again on the third
day.
· I declare that Jesus is my Lord and
my God.
Now, at the risk of sounding
religious,
May God bless you and keep you;
May He make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you;
And may the LORD lift up His countenance upon you, And give you
peace." '
Have a
great Christmas everybody. And remember,
when someone asks you why we are celebrating, tell them.
Amen
Genesis 3.15 (NKJV)
Isaiah 7:14 (NKJV)
Luke 1:26-35 (NKJV)
Isaiah 9:6 (NKJV)
Mathew 1 22-25 (NKJV)
Micah 5:2 (NKJV)
Luke 2:1-5 (NKJV)
Luke 2:6-7 (NKJV)
Psalm 148:1-2 (NKJV)
Luke 2:8-14 (NKJV)
John 14:27 (NKJV)
Luke 2:15-20 (NKJV)
Luke 2.21-24(NKJV)
Luke 2.15-35(NKJV)
Luke 2.36-40(NKJV)
Psalm 72:10 (NKJV) says
Matthew 2:1-12 (NKJV)
Jeremiah 31:15 (NKJV)
Mathew 2.13-17(NKJV)
Hosea 11:1 (NKJV)
Mathew 2.19-21(NKJV)
Isaiah 11:1 (NKJV)
Mathew 2.22-23(NKJV)