I was unable to audio-record the message from last week, but here are the key notes to our talk. Hope this is helpful to those of you who wanted them. Merry Christmas!
Reason
for the season… birth… live nativity… away in a manger… Xmas pageants… Talladega Nights – silly thing to see
someone praying to baby Jesus – you can even get a t-shirt online that says “Oh
dear Lord Baby Jesus.”
Everyone
wants to celebrate the baby Jesus… nothing wrong with that, but it’s
incomplete.
Most
Christians want to celebrate Emmanuel – God with us… do we know what that really mean?
The only reason Christians get excited for the birth is
that they think it leads to Easter.
Most
of us haven’t fully grasped yet why the infant birth was so crucial.
Why
did Jesus have to become a man for 30 years.
Why
didn’t he just appear out of thin air as a grown man? Minister and heal for a
few years and then die? He still would’ve been a perfect, spotless sacrifice
for our sins right. Why did he have to live a “normal” life for so long before
the crucifixion?
Why,
oh why, is the human BIRTH important to our faith??
Briefly,
I want to unpack a few things that I think the physical birth of Jesus reveals
for you and me:
The birth
reveals God isn’t afraid of sin, He goes right to where sin exists.
· The
culture of Jesus’ day was about sin avoidance… is it that different today?
· Religion
teaches that sin can taint you (not the other way around).
· God
and His Spirit CAN exist where
sin is – Hebrews 1 à
Jesus is the exact imprint of the nature of the Father.
· Hebrews
1 (ESV) - Long ago, at
many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in
these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of
all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the
glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe
by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at
the right hand of the Majesty on high…
· God
was showing the world that He not only COULD be where sin was, but that He
WANTED to be where we are no matter what…
· and
further that HE would change sin à
not the other way around.
· BUT,
he did all of this in humanities skin…
The birth
reveals that humanity is not an obstacle; it’s God’s plan.
· The
birth reveals the ability of God to put on human skin (babies, diapers, pains,
hurts, emotions, temptations, etc.)… He experienced everything that we did… including temptation, and yet “was without
sin.”
· Jesus
was not only the full revelation of the Father… He wanted to show us the full
revelation of what we were intended to live like…
· Romans
8 (NLT) - 29 For God knew
his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his
Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And having
chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave
them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, He gave
them his glory.
· Jesus’
humanity actually reveals our adoption into the family… not just some contract
or exchange made at the cross (although true), but actually the ability to show
us (in love) exactly the way we were intended to live.
· John
actually understood this better than most… he understood he was the “loved one”
of God… and that we actually have the ability to live as Jesus did… humanity is
not an obstacle!
a.
NLT
4:13-17 à
13 And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in
us. 14 Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the
Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 All who declare that
Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. 16 We know how much God loves us, and we have put
our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and
God lives in them. 17 And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we
will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence
because we live like Jesus here in this world.
b.
MSG
- our standing in the world is identical with Christ’s.
c.
NASB
- because as He is, so also are we in this world.
· When
we receive the life of Christ… the empowerment of the Holy Spirit… we become
like Jesus in this world.
· Think
about this parallel that the birth of Jesus reveals.
o
Jesus was born of his mother Mary.
o
Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit (Matt
1:20)
o
We are born of our mothers.
o
When we place our faith in Jesus, we become
born of the Spirit of God.
o
As He is, so are we in this world
· If
Jesus did not come as a baby… did not come and life a full human life… then it
would have only revealed God’s plan WITHOUT us… it would not have revealed
God’s plan through us.
Which
leads us into more revelation…
The birth
reveals that God no longer looks at us as sinner, but as saints.
· Jesus’
birth shows what it means for us to walk in our identity again
· Jesus’
birth shows what it means to walk in our authority again
· It
reveals our ability to “do what Jesus did.”
· What
can one man full of the Holy Spirit accomplish?
· When
we take on Christ’s righteousness… 2
Corinthians 5 (ESV) 21 For
our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become
the righteousness of God… when we become the righteousness of God… when
our minds become accustomed to this reality, we no longer ask “What would Jesus
do” but we begin to “do what Jesus did.”
Tonight
we are going to end our service in two ways…
· Ministry
here… practicing internally as a church
· Ministry
outside these walls… donut
outreach… living externally towards our community.
Main Ideas…
· KEY TEXT: 1 John 4:13-17
· DOMINANT THOUGHT: Bringing Xmas and Easter together
· MAIN DILEMMA: The only reason Christians get excited for the birth is that they think it leads to Easter.
