December 18 2011

An Early Gift

It is a week before Christmas and we wanted to bring to you an early gift. Every year for the Christmas holiday, in the church, the story of the birth of Christ is brought forward and displayed in glorious celebration. All who know me, or were with us last year, know that I do not do a traditional Christmas story. I usually bring a shock factor to our story. This year would you expect different?

Yes, we will discuss the birth of our Saviour on this day. We know the traditional story, that is found in Luke, where an angel appeared to Joseph and to Mary and told them of this great conception. We all know that from this conception came the greatest gift that has ever been given, the One who gave His all so that we could have life. What do we really know about that actual time? We all know the cover story of the birth of Christ, but what really happened behind the scenes to make this happen? Let us find out.

There are several characters that I want us to take a look at when we talk about this time of year and the story of the birth of Christ. When we celebrate this season let us look beyond the manger at several folks that were left in the shadows, but really played a main role in all the events that would unfold before us.

If we look just behind the manger and to the left we see Joseph. We know that Joseph was the earthly father of the One sent to us to become our Saviour, the King of kings, and God in the flesh. What do we really know about Joseph?

There are several things I want us to find out about Joseph. Joseph played a very small part in the nativity scene, not even having a speaking part and then he completely disappears from history by the time Jesus reaches His teen years. He stood silently in the back and exemplified a great moral and courageous life style. Let us put our selves in the shoes of Joseph for a moment and let us put our selves back in this day and time. Back in this day and time marriage was taken very serious. The new bride to be was to be pure and wholy and a virgin. The only way a woman was married and not a virgin is if she had been married and either her husband died or through divorce because of something that warranted divorce. Mary had never been married or had been with a man. Mary was the perfect virgin bride and Joseph was very pleased to take her to be his wife. Now let us step up the scene to the night that Joseph finds out that his fiancé is already pregnant with a child and he never had been with her. How would we feel? Well, Joseph was upset. Joseph was so upset, in fact, that he was going to break off the engagement. Here, his new bride to be has fooled around on him and became pregnant. Joseph will now be the laughing stock of the public. He will be the outcast, as well as his new bride. This is a time where the world was small, in comparison to the population today and where your standing in the world was essential. Have we got the full picture yet? Now that we have painted this picture what can discover about Joseph?

Looking at Joseph, we see morality and courage. Despite public embarrassment Joseph showed courage when he obeyed the angel of the Lord and married Mary. Joseph, out of all the men in the world, was chosen, by God, to become the earthly father of Jesus. Why was Joseph chosen? God knew that Joseph would be the one that was so courageous that he would protect Jesus during the hard times that were ahead. Joseph protect Mary from the public when it was made known she was pregnant and it was not Joseph's child. Joseph protect Jesus when He was born. Joseph protect his family when they were to travel the long and dangerous roads to Bethlehem, to Egypt and eventually Israel. This took great courage for a man in those days to defy all odds and all the public and take a stand for something like the one true God. What else did God see when He looked for a man to become the dad of Jesus?

We know that this was a very immoral time in history. How do we know this? God looked upon the earth and saw that the world was in a terrible situation and had to send a Saviour in order to make things right. If the world was in such a terrible situation then God had to find someone that would be able to stand higher above the rest and live the life that was originally designed. God looked all over and found a man that had the morals that He was looking for. Joseph displayed a moral life in an immoral world. Joseph grew up in a region that was very religious but not very righteous. Even the religious leaders were corrupt and more interested in power than living for God. They never treated righteous men very kindly. The killed prophets. They even, later, rejected Jesus Himself. Only one with the best morals would be able to withstand the time and the duty that God had in mind.

Let us continue behind the scenes with another character. The next person I want us to see is the mother of Jesus, Mary. Mary was more than just the mother of Jesus. Mary was cultivated from a very early age strong faith. Mary was between the ages of thirteen and fifteen when an angel came to her to radically change her life. This angel was going to tell her that she was a pregnant teenager that was engaged to be married. Now, let us remember the time we are in and all the things we have discussed about this time. Mary would be punished to the fullest extreme because of how she had become, in the public eye. When the angel appeared before her, she responded in such a strong faith that we know it had to have been growing inside her from the beginning and was now an adult faith in a teenager's body. Mary believed in the personal God of Israel. Mary's faith was not in a creed or a religion like the rest of the religious society. They had a relationship with their religion rather than a relationship with the Lord. A personal relationship with the Lord God is what sets Biblical faith apart from the religions of the world. Paul stated, in Hebrew, "and without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those that seek him. According to Old Testament law the penalty for adultery was death by stoning. This took great faith for Mary to stand up to the face of death and be known as someone who was pregnant before she was married and not pregnant by the man she was to wed. A faith that has not been seen before or since.

Next I want us to look way in the back. Way behind the manger, way behind the baby Jesus, and way back in the dark. What do we see? We see the three wise men, but more important we see hope. Let us look at the word hope. We can hope for many things, especially in this time of year. We hope we get a new IPOD or a new car, or a special gift that we have longed for. Hope does not guarantee us anything, it is merely a wish. It is a wish that we HOPE might come true. Even if we do not get a new IPOD or car, or something we may have hoped for, then usually it is not so devastating that it will ruin our lives but hope even if not fulfilled, is the greatest motivator of the human soul. The wise men had a different kind of hope. They had a hope that was a guarantee. When the star first appeared to the wise men they gained hope. They saw a star and they saw a hope in the message the star brought to them. The star told them that there would be a great King born in a manger in Bethlehem and that they were to follow this star to find that King. The King would bring love, joy, and peace to all His people. The King would bring hope. The hope that this King would bring was a guarantee that He would bring life to the people that followed Him. The wise men would follow the words of an angel, would follow a star and would find and follow a King, all of which they had never seen before. We can tell that their hope had been growing within them for a very long time. How would any one of react if we were approached by a voice, led by a star and brought to a dingy barn to worship a king? Sounds a little out there don't it? If we put this type of event in our day and time, many would think they were hearing voices and needed to be seen by a professional. If they had seen a star, it would most likely be dismissed as any other star in space. Finally who would expect to find a king in a barn with animals, sleeping in a food dish with hay and dressed in rags? This would take so much hope and so much faith. These wise men showed us a hope like no hope we have ever seen before. There was a hope deep within them that even though it was a voice in their head, just a star in the galaxy and just another child laying in a barn, Jesus was truly the King that was here to save His people from their sins and give His people life everlasting.

Lastly I want us to look at one other character that is always overlooked, God. I am not talking about the baby Jesus laying in the manger as God in the flesh, but the actual God in Heaven. I recently read a story I wanted to share with you. Raymond Pletson told this story. "Shopping for a Christmas gift for my wife is an experience that fills me with a tremendous amount anxiety because I want to find a gift that says "I love you" as meaningfully as possible. It usually takes days and days of seeking as the panic grows inside me that I won't find it in time.

But one happy year I found the perfect gift on my very first day out shopping. It was a crystal chandelier that fit our new home and matched my wife's taste in decorating. I was so excited I almost gave it to her before Christmas. The only thing that restrained me was the realization that if I did I would have to go out and search for another gift for her to open on Christmas morning.

That chandelier now brings us lots of pleasure as the crystals capture the sunlight, refract it and send colorful splashes of light all around our dining room and living room. I am still pleased with myself that I found the perfect gift!" God looked down on His creation, the creation He set above all that He created, and He knew that His people need a gift, the perfect gift.

This perfect gift was not the actual baby Jesus. Yes, Jesus was the greatest gift given but why was He the greatest gift? Jesus was love. God had given us His greatest gift of love in the form of a child. God gave us a child, Himself in the flesh, because there could be no love given greater than the love of God. How many of us would give our only son, how many of us would give our very self just so someone could live?

God looked all around to find a man that was morally and courageous enough, a teenage virgin that had enough faith, sent an angel talk to both, sent an angel and a star to some wise men, and sent them all to a barn to bring into life, NOT a king, but a child who would be a born as God in the flesh, live as a servant, die as a Saviour and raise as THE King. If we can look beyond the manger and the cross, we will discover four words that we must keep in mind, praise, believe, trust and serve. Let us praise the King that laid in that manger with, Psalms 98:4, "Shout to the LORD, all the earth; break out in praise and sing for joy!". Let us believe in the One that came as God in the flesh with, Matthew 17:20, ""You don't have enough faith," Jesus told them. "I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it would move. Nothing would be impossible." Let us trust in the child that laid in that manger and became God in the flesh with, Proverbs 3:5, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding." Let us remember that if we praise His name, if we believe only on Him, if we trust fully in Him, then we must serve Him just as it says in, Joshua 24:15, "But if you refuse to serve the LORD, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the LORD."

We should be singing praises from the rooftops, believing with our hearts, minds and souls, trusting completely in the saving grace and love of Christ and serving Him with our whole beings.

When we turn to Matthew or Luke, this year, and read the story of the birth of Christ, let us remember all the characters behind the manger and remember our own courage, our own faith, our own hope and especially God's love. The birth of Christ, the greatest event in history was for one purpose, that God would give us so much love with the death and resurrection of His only Son, that we may have life through Him.

If you are looking the greatest gift for Christmas, then unwrap the gift in swaddling clothes and grasp the true unconditional love of God.

To get started all you have to do is say a simple prayer with me. Say this simple prayer with me, Dear Lord, I want you to be the Lord over my life, forgive me of my sins, and give me the gift of everlasting life. Amen.

If you have said this simple prayer, then we believe that you have received salvation. We would love to rejoice with you, so please drop us a note, in our link, to let us know and confess Jesus before man, so that we may send you a few things that we hope will help you in your new Christian walk.


With Love in Christ,

Pastor Stone