Their presence embarrassed me, especially when our paths crossed in public. They would waddle up, throw their pudgy arms around me, and loudly proclaim, “He’s our pastor!” One night, I reluctantly went to their little house for dinner. They sat me on a wooden crate at a card table surrounded by stray cats and décor rescued from a junk heap. We ate fast-food fried chicken, fruit cocktail straight out of a can, and Wonder Bread served on worn plastic plates. Later that little shack became a house of evangelism. Almost weekly, they would phone me to come and share the gospel with bikers covered in tattoos, homeless drifters, or runaway teens —many high on drugs or reeking of booze. In five years, I led many people to Christ in their place on the poor side of Tulsa.
Had Jesus come to Tulsa, Wanda and Lucille would have bullied their way past everyone to be first to host him. I would have found a polite way to steer Jesus toward a more impressive home. But he would have said, “No thanks, I want to stay at Wanda and Lucille’s place. They’ll wash my feet with tears of gratitude and wipe them dry with their hair. By the way, I’ve already been there a thousand times before. I slipped in with every down-and-outer they ever invited into their shack.” The amazing story of Wanda and Lucille is a reminder that there was no room for Jesus in the inn. As a result, he was born among barnyard beasts to an unwed teenage mother so he could be crucified between two criminals. Surely, none of us can be so far gone that he won’t come to our house. Are you part of the Inn crowd, or the Stable few?”
-James Petterson, The One Year Book of Amazing Stories (abridged)
Just like Wanda and Lucille, when you really get down to understanding how to really know Jesus the Christ in close relationship, to have Him as your friend, your savior, your Lord, your King, it comes down to one simple key truth: You must be willing, open, hungry to receive Him, humble enough to desire Him deeply.
A humble desire for the Lord of all. Simple, pure, truthful, meek, lowly, humble. That’s what it takes. Maybe in the end that’s a gift from the Lord himself.
Maybe that’s why the beginning of the greatest sermon ever written, the sermon on the mount, Jesus tells us that, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.”
We’ve been looking at the promises of God, the incredible hope we find in our faith, the gospel message we’re given to share with others, and last week the abundance, the abundant life of a believer, and all of these things surround one central truth, one perfect truth, one perfect reality, indeed, one perfect person, our Lord, our Savior, our Friend, our Creator, Jesus the Messiah, which brings us to our codeword, codeword Messiah.
Who is this being, who is this person, this infinite God who made us? Who is Jesus really? He provides all these things to us. He gives us hope, a future, promises, a message, an abundant life. And it all comes to us through Jesus.
The one who said I am the way, the truth, and the life. The one who said I am the resurrection and the life. The one who said I don’t condemn you, but go and sin no more. The one who said I am the light of the world. The one who said Woe to you Pharisees, hypocrites! The one who said If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. The one who said blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of God. The one who said you will be my witnesses to the ends of the Earth.
We know this savior, this mysterious infinite being, through the words he spoke to us. Indeed in John 6 63 What gives life is God's Spirit; human power is of no use at all. The words I have spoken to you bring God's life-giving Spirit.”
The words about Jesus bring God’s presence, the life giving Spirit. That’s why it’s so important to study your Bible supernaturally. To encounter God.
It’s vital.
Who is Jesus? He is the Messiah. The one who brings life to us. Apart from Him we are nothing. With Him living inside us, we have all these precious promises, hope, a message, and an abundance.
The messiah was promised to come to help us all the way back in the first book of the Bible, Genesis, when humanity turned against God and rebelled. Humanity fell into sin, and the world became an evil place. This was God’s judgment on humanity for their willful disobedience. But God also promised that in the future, a descendant in the line of Adam and Eve would be born that would bring lost humanity back to God.
This promised one, this anointed one, this promised savior, this messiah, would be born, to change history forever, to deliver us from our own sins, and bring us into peace with God. That’s what we have now, is peace with God.
But I think we have to be careful to always keep our eyes on Jesus. Indeed it Hebrews we’re told to fix our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12). We have all these promises, hopes, abundance. But we have to always be reminded of where it came from, it all comes from Jesus the lover of our souls.
One of the churches of Revelation had grown to fight evil so much they had lost their love. It says in Revelation 2:4-5
But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.”
Let us return today to our first love, the loving close relationship with Jesus our savior, who is the bread of life, the light of the world, the gate for the sheep, the good shepherd, the resurrection and the life, the way the truth and the life, and the true vine.
So I was asking myself late last night, how do I help each of these wonderful saints to do something as simple as know Jesus the messiah more deeply? To really know Him and love Him and walk with Him. How simple. What a thing! To know Jesus deeply.
(Hope) One, very simple, believe in your heart that Jesus Christ is really your savior. To believe in your heart, really believe, that God raised Jesus from the dead, and that he’s alive right now.
So simple, child-like faith, to really believe, to really trust, to really know in your heart Jesus is your personal savior.
So simple, yet so profound. The mystery of faith, do you personally believe and know that Christ Jesus is your savior? If so, amen, praise the Lord!
(Abundance) Two, very simple, seek the Lord, time and again, Jesus will call you to himself in your life. As you get busy, life happens, you start to drift off a bit, your prayer life gets a bit stale, your bible study time gets a bit repetitive, and Jesus will call you afresh to himself.
And that’s your opportunity to seek Him, and wonder in your heart: Who are you really Jesus? What does it mean that you are infinite? You hunger and thirst in your heart to know the mystery of His glory. And the mystery of His glory and perceiving it begins with asking the question to God: Who are you, really? God, show me your glory.
(Promise) Thirdly, very simple, love Jesus. Love Him deeply. Reflect on His gift to you. Reflect on His promises. Reflect on His nature. Reflect on His character. Reflect on the words of Jesus and their complexity and yet, simplicity.
The word of God says that to love Jesus, if we want to show our love for Jesus its very simple, Jesus said he who loves me obeys my commands. (John 14:15) Trust and obey, trust and obey, for theres no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.
(Gospel) Fourthly, if we’re to believe in our hearts that Jesus is our savior and is alive, the other part of that is to share the message with others. Are you doing that? One study found that only about 2-3% of Christians actively share their faith! That’s crazy! That may just be reflecting people who go to church. Just because you go to church doesn’t mean you’re an active Christian. But real Christians share their faith. Share the gospel. They get the message out there because they are desperate for others to find what they’ve found in Christ. Redemption! A new life!
(Maranatha) Fifthly, long for his coming. Israel had longed for the coming of the messiah. And he came as a little baby. They didn’t expect that. Jesus will return. He will set up his kingdom. He will smash the nations to pieces like pottery. Jesus may have come two thousand years ago as a servant king, a servant suffering savior, but when he comes a second time he’s coming as all powerful king of kings and Lord of lords. He is coming to rule. He is coming back as the Lion of Judah. Let us long for his return. That is our calling today.
Know Him deeply. Seek Him. Believe in Him. Trust and obey Him. Share your faith. Long for his return. For He is the messiah. And everything is about Jesus. Life is not about stuff. It’s not about people or countries or power or wealth. It’s not even about you or me. It’s really about Jesus. Everything is about Jesus. He is our creator. God dreamed us up. He comes before us, always, forever, God bless you, Merry Christmas, Jesus was born to give us life. He came. Come again Lord Jesus, amen!
“Slats Grobnik scratched out a few bucks selling Christmas trees. Just before Christmas, when all the trees had been picked over, a ragged couple came onto the lot. As they turned the price tag over on each tree, it was obvious that they didn’t have enough money to buy one. Then the woman spied a discarded Scotch pine. It didn’t look so bad on one side, but it was terribly scrawny on the other. Not far away stood another pitiful tree with the needles on one side eaten away.
The woman whispered in her husband’s ears, and he asked if three dollars would be enough to buy both trees. Slats figured that he couldn’t sell them anyway, so he agreed. He watched as the couple dragged their two scraggly trees away, leaving a trail of pine needles in their wake.
A few evenings later, Slats was walking home when he spied a magnificent Christmas tree in the window of a dilapidated apartment building. Then Slats saw the ragged couple sitting on the porch out front. “That’s a beautiful tree up in the window,” exclaimed Slats. “Yep,” replied the man with pride. “That’s our tree. Actually, it’s the two trees we bought from you.” “How can that be?” asked Slats. “I sold you the two worst trees on the lot.” “I know,” the man responded. “But my missus is clever. She had me work the trees together where the branches are bare. We formed one tree out of the two and wired them together."
Slats Grobnik learned a secret that night. “You take two trees that aren’t perfect, that have flaws, that might even be homely, that maybe nobody else would want. But if you put them together just right, you can come up with something really beautiful.”
Christmas is the story of God taking the flawed and making it beautiful. God can wire together an ordinary carpenter, an unwed teenage girl, a handful of shepherds, prostitutes, tax collectors, and flawed disciples to tell a Christmas story that brings joy to the whole world. When you feel like you are just a little person in a little place, take time to remember Slats Grobnik’s amazing Christmas story.
God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important.-1 Cor 1:28” -James Petterson, The One Year Book of Amazing Stories (abridged)
God takes us who are like the scrawny broken Christmas trees, and he decorates us, wraps us in garland, waters us, nurtures us, and makes us into something truly new and beautiful.
You see someone who used to be afraid, broken, quiet, and shallow, and they come to Jesus Christ and they become someone very different, whole, complete, less afraid, more confident, wise, and true.
God takes broken things and makes them new. And abundantly new. Abundantly beautiful.
He takes us who were depressed, hurting, beaten by life, who had become bitter, and he doesn’t just add a few new things to cover the old, he heals those places, and decks us out in bulbs, lights, ornaments, stars, candy canes, and as he works on us we smile, and as he completes the work, we glow as a new hero.
Why? Because of our foundation scripture for today, found in John 10:10: Jesus said: “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10, NRSV)
The Greek word here for “abundantly” is perissos
Pronunciation: per-is-sos'
The definition is: over and above, more than is necessary, superadded, exceeding abundantly, supremely
pre-eminence, superiority, advantage, more eminent, more remarkable, more excellent
It brings to mind the classic Psalm 23, which describes this abundant life of a follower of the messiah.
“1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord, forever.”
One thing you must keep at the center of your mind and heart is that the Christian life is an abundant life.
And I think Psalm 23 really defines what that means.
It means my cup overflows.
But it doesn’t mean we won’t have enemies. In Psalm 23 we see God prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemies. So there are enemies, but God prepares a banquet for me in front of them.
Yes, we do walk through the valley of the shadow of death, but we don’t fear evil at all. We don’t fear Satan or demons or wicked people. No, we know we have an abundant life provided by Jesus.
That’s for you. Do you view your life as fundamentally abundant? Overflowing? Full of good things?
During this kettle season it’s been hard to think of my life as overflowing with good things, but it’s absolutely true.
I have my mother visiting, I have a beautiful girlfriend who spends time with me, I have friends and spiritual family in this church who pray for me and encourage me. I have a warm place to live in, a vehicle, legs that work, abundant food, and a soft bed to sleep in.
Sure there are problems and bell ringing issues and fundraising issues, and stress and all that, God didn’t say there wouldn’t be problems. But God is with me in all the problems. That is abundant life, even on the hard days.
As much as I know Jesus has washed away my past sins, there’s more to it than that. He walks with me everyday.
“Jesus was born to give us life. One of the beautiful things about the Christmas story is that it doesn’t offer just my past forgiveness and future hope, but everything I need right here, right now.
• Jesus came so that I would have everything I need to fight the discouraging battle with private sin.
• Jesus came so that I would have everything I need to have a peaceful relationship with my angry neighbor.
• Jesus came so that I could stand against the desire to judge or condemn others.
• Jesus came so that I could forge with my spouse a marriage of unity, understanding, and love.
• Jesus came so that I could parent my children with patient wisdom and grace.
• Jesus came so that I could face the realities of life in a fallen world without doubt or despair." -Come Let Us Adore Him, pp. 139-140
An abundant life, which Jesus came to gift to us, is one we’ve received from Christ, and one in which we’re walking in victory, despite the trials and struggles we face.
Our lives are fundamentally about joy, peace, and blessing.
2nd Peter 1:3-8: “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
We have everything we need from Jesus to live a godly life, a victorious life, a life of serving others, a life of joy and hope and truth, a life filled with self-control, perseverance, godliness, affection, and love.”
And as we yield to the leading of the Holy Spirit, God dresses us like this, in all these beautiful attributes of character. He makes us more and more like His son Jesus, overflowing with love and faithfulness. That is our calling.
And when you look at an abundant life, I think yes it does mean outer things, friendships, relationships, food, shelter, safety, freedom, work, and funds, but it is just as much internal characteristics that God is fashioning in us.
He takes the most lowly sinners, people who steal, slander others, cheat, skip out on paying taxes, download internet music illegally, people who if we saw a woman being attacked, we’d just keep walking, people who stole money from their parents or friends to buy drugs or booze, people who had no character and no values whatsoever, and he makes them into shining heroes, princes of the kingdom of God, heroes of the faith, people of character, people of honor, people who go from stealing someone's wallet and then help them look around their house for it, to someone who see a twenty dollar bill on the ground behind an old lady, and are excited to pick it up and chase after the old lady and give it back to her. People who are accidentally mailed a Christmas card with money in it, and it came to the wrong address, so we mail it to the right address, leave the money in it, and pay for the postage ourselves.
As much as we are the Christmas tree surrounded by presents, maybe the most beautiful part of being a Christian is seeing how God decorates us with all new character and beliefs and a desire to do good when no one is looking.
I want to read for you a scripture the Lord gave me from the book of Deuteronomy, this is the book Jesus most often quoted from, but in this scripture it talks about how if we do diligently follow the Lord we’ll be blessed in all these different ways, but it also says, that if we don’t, and we turn away and do our own thing, well there will be many curses.
It says Deuteronomy 28:1-19: “And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God. 3 Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. 4 Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. 5 Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. 6 Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
7 “The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you. They shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways. 8 The Lord will command the blessing on you in your barns and in all that you undertake. And he will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. 9 The Lord will establish you as a people holy to himself, as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in his ways. 10 And all the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you. 11 And the Lord will make you abound in prosperity, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your livestock and in the fruit of your ground, within the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. 12 The Lord will open to you his good treasury, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands. And you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. 13 And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you shall only go up and not down, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, being careful to do them, 14 and if you do not turn aside from any of the words that I command you today, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
15 “But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you. 16 Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field. 17 Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. 18 Cursed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. 19 Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.”
That’s always how it is in life I think, God lays before us two paths, obedience or rebellion, and with our actions, not as much our words, but with our actions we choose our path. Free will.
We can follow Jesus and live an abundant life. Or we can follow the ways of the world, and our way will be cursed and broken. The choice is ours. I choose Jesus.
I choose to live the abundant life. I believe God’s promises. Believe and speak these affirmations from scripture:
I have faith in God. – Hebrews 11:1
I am strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. – Ephesians 6:10
I am a chosen generation and a royal priesthood, holy and special. – 2 Peter 2:9
God has plans for me to prosper and have hope for the future. – Jeremiah 29:11
God hides me in a secret place. I abide in the shadow of his formidable presence. – Psalms 91:1
God can do more than I ask or think. – Ephesians 3:20
This dire situation is only temporary. – 2 Corinthians 4:18
God cares for me; I can give him my anxieties. 1 Peter 5:7
God will keep me stable as I give him my burdens. – Psalms 55:22
I seek God, and he rewards me. Hebrews 11:6
No enemy can pluck me out of God’s hands. – John 10:28
My enemies come at me one way but flee away from me seven ways. – Deuteronomy 28:7
When I honor God, he will command blessings upon all the ventures I undertake. – Deuteronomy 28:8
The Lord will give me prosperity in every area of my life. – Deuteronomy 28:11
Windows of Heaven are open to me, and blessings are poured out to me, more than I could ever receive. – Malachi 3:10
I walk by faith, not by the obstacles standing in front of me today. – 2 Corinthians 5:7
I trust God’s word; it is light for me when I cannot find my way. – Psalms 109:105
Recently I received some information, a report that was very good. Chelsey, and Karen, and my mom, and others had gone out for the Stuff a Blue Goose event, for the first time at Meijer, and with the help of MSP they had raised over $1,000 in donations and 300 toys. That is what you would call good news, yes?
Additionally, they even applied for an internal grant to get us more toys. Similarly Home Depot in the area has reached out and is going to support us with coats and winter gear for those in need, Also, Nelson House funeral home is doing a toy drive for us. This is all good news. Information, shared with me, that is encouraging.
I also received some bad news, and bad reports recently, at the parsonage, the basement flooded with sewage. We had to get it fixed. Then the furnace in the basement of the corps here failed. We got it fixed. Then the drain in the kitchen at the corps flooded with sewage as well. Crazy stuff!
Good news and bad news. That’s what we’re talking about today.
When we think about how we respond to things that happen in our lives, it’s just basic to human life. Some days we get good news, some days we get bad news. And life becomes very often how we respond to the information we’re receiving. Good or bad, our response tends to dictate how things will play out.
And when you look at the word gospel, you’re looking at the formula by which we find our eternal hope. We find everything we need in the gospel.
But baked into the gospel message there is both good news and bad news.
The good news is of course that Jesus came to save us. But is that enough to understand? Well, the big question remains, what is Jesus saving us from? That’s the bad news. The bad news of the gospel is, that we’re dead in our sins and trespasses and justly open to the wrath of God.
For me reading the bible early on, it was a hard book to read, because it tells you the hard part about yourself, and the sin problem, something that is internal to me and you.
Good News, Jesus’ offers grace. Bad news, you have to admit you’re a sinner, and also be willing to stop sinning by the power of the Holy Spirit, to repent, and embrace a new way.
I know for me when examining the life of Jesus, I didn’t want the gospel at first because I knew I would have to change my behavior. I would have to stop living for myself first. I’d have to stop getting drunk and doing drugs and smoking, and chasing girls. I would have to live a different life in light of what Jesus had done.
That was bad news. But the good news is, Jesus offers a perfect way, where we find our true destiny, and we come to find who we truly are, and what we were always meant to be.
But it’s all about how we respond. For me what seemed mostly bad news, is now today something I understand as almost entirely good news.
But if you boil it down to it, it’s information. The gospel is information we receive and then decide what we’re going to do with it. We read this map, these directions saying, you’re a sinner, you deserve hell, you will go there without Jesus, but here’s what you do, come to Jesus and receive Him as your savior, and you’ll be born again and set on a course for a new world, a new paradise free from sin.
It's a map showing you how to come to Jesus Christ, and how to receive Him as your savior personally. Have you made him your personal savior yet? It’s not enough to just hear it and say oh yes I agree with that.
What if I pulled out a map and looked at it and said oh yes, that’s quite correct. Have I gotten anywhere? No. I have to get in my car, follow the directions on the map, and then I’ll end up where I belong. Say I’m traveling to traverse city. I look at the map here in Owosso and say oh yes I agree that’s how to get there. You go up this highway then get onto another.
And I say to you alright I’m in traverse city. You would say no you’re not you haven’t moved.
And I’m worried today that some of you might be looking at the gospel, the map about how to receive Jesus and saying oh yes I agree with that. But you haven’t actually made Jesus Christ your personal savior and given your heart and your life to Him. You’re just agreeing that you like the idea of it.
It’s time to dive into the middle of this and give your entire life to Jesus, to cry out to Jesus to be your savior. Do it now.
If you haven’t done that, stop listening and just spend the next few minutes crying out to Jesus who is here, to be your personal savior. Period.
So today, we’re going to examine two parallel scenarios. First, the shepherds and how they connect with the messiah.
Then the magi, and how they connect.
Then how the shepherds respond to the message, and how Herod responds to the report from the magi.
From Luke chapter 2:8-20 “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.”
The response of the shepherds to the information they receive is positive, they go on a mission in the midst of the night to find this child they’ve heard about.
A dark night, cold, tired, sheep sleeping, and boom, the whole universe changes for these guys. And they go off into the night and find this baby. And their response is positive, they praise God.
They received a report. They investigated the information. They confirmed it was real when they found the baby Jesus just as they had been told. The shepherds then returned, and gave God glory in the situation.
They obeyed God by telling everyone they saw. They took the information they received, verified it, then took the message to others. That is the same job we have today.
And I can tell there was an anointing on the shepherds as they spread the message. Because people were astonished by the message. It says they were amazed. There was power behind the message.
If some smelly shepherd came to my door saying the messiah had been born I probably wouldn’t respond too well. But if they had the anointing of God on them, well that changes everything.
Have you ever been told something by someone who had an anointing? And you knew you were meant to hear it from them. All of it was meant to happen. And there was power behind their words?
I’ll tell you this, I have things I like to write about and preach about, but, when I really am preaching or writing about what God wants me to share about, well, there is an anointing on it that is strong.
The idea of anointing though, is like, there’s power and authority behind the words. It’s more than words. You can sense God’s confirmation in it, even His presence in the words being spoken. It’s powerful. You all I’m sure have had moments like that, when God’s power resting on what you’d received. And you felt it. Hard to explain though, right?
Let’s take a look at our second scenario. The first you could say is the working class version of events. Next one is the rich elites and powerful version of events.
From Matthew chapter 2:1-18 “After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
6 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 17 Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:
18 “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more.””
The second historical depiction in Matthew shows the three elites coming to visit the baby messiah, God led them there through a star in the sky. Who are these men? Travelers from China, or India, or Japan? Or from Russia? They were philosophers, wise men, elites from the eastern half of the world.
Once again we see the spread of information and it’s effects in the world. God spread the truth into the East through the wise men. God’s kingdom plan is unfolding for the world.
But the evil one is already at work. He wants to kill the messiah while the messiah is still a baby. The enemy works through Herod, who orders the murder of the innocents in Bethlehem. A terrible event in history. But Joseph and Mary and the new baby flee into Egypt to escape the murder, but later return.
News reached Herod through the wise men. And he acted on the news with terrible plans. He has children slaughtered and it’s horrible.
And the enemy has plans in our world today, and in our state, the state of Michigan, a state that murders unborn babies. And it’s horrible. The enemy has plans. And sometimes we think we know so much. But we end up making huge mistakes when we don’t have the correct information. Or we don’t understand the information like we should.
News reaches the shepherds and they spread the good news. The same news reaches Herod, and he becomes a messenger of Satan, having the children in Bethlehem under the age of 2 slaughtered.
We see this same struggle in our news feed every day. The struggle between good and evil, right and wrong, truth and lies.
How does news reach us? By various different routes, television, radio, social media, news websites, and so on and so forth.
That’s how we understand what is happening in the world right now. But what happens when the sway of evil enters the news? Sometimes it can have us believing good is bad and bad is good. It’s all about how the information is presented.
It’s all information. News, data, stats, facts, events, history. Information is so very important. It’s how we know anything!
The shepherds heard it from angels, and they spread the report after seeing it themselves.
When good news hits the right ears they magnify the good and spread the good. That’s our job, to spread the good news about Jesus.
Spread the good. Too often we hear bad news, and spread the bad. And bad takes over. We can’t fight evil with evil though. We must overcome evil with good.
When good news hits the wrong ears, evil takes place. Wicked people, attempt to destroy the good news. This happened in the account of herod.
The wise men followed a star and found the messiah. But the news hit the wrong ears when the word of the messiah came back to Herod, and he ordered the murder of many children, to try to stop the birth of the messiah.- Difficult Truths (the horror of sin and lostness) become
- Glad Tidings (the mystery and glory of God’s total forgiveness and grace)
- Then the battle on Earth begins between God’s Kingdom and Satan’s Empire.
- God’s Kingdom spreads (through magi and shepherds)
- Satan’s Empire attacks (murder of the children in Bethlehem)
All of this plays out in the historical events surrounding the birth of Jesus, the shepherds, the wise men, Herod’s response, no room at the inn for Jesus, the escape to Egypt, it all fits together, to define the battle between God’s kingdom and Satan’s empire.
So let’s talk applications.
First of all, this code word Gospel, good news, glad tidings, is for you. The good news, receive it as a gift for yourself.
Take the information and apply it. Take the gift, but also open it. Put it to use in your life. Don’t just read the information, make it part of you, make Jesus your full complete savior.
Then take the good news report, like the shepherds did, and spread it everywhere. Spread it at work. Spread it to your family. Hand out Bibles. Feed people. Pray with people. Knock on doors. Invite everyone to church. Hand out tracts. Post on social media. Send out emails. Write books. Start websites. Anything, and everything to get the message out.
But do it according to God’s will, and walk in faith as you do it, then you’ll be anointed as you speak and it will have power behind it. Walk in His will.
Thirdly, recognize there will be opposition. The enemy will be doing everything he can to discredit you, to cause you to slip up morally, he will try to block the message, hide the message, and stop people from listening to the message.
But God grants us the victory in all that. As we seek His will. Trust God in those battles, and recognize opposition forms. Even controversies will form around important issues where God wants you to take a stand. Expect it, and stand firm. Get that gospel out there.
Also recognize the power of information. The power of God’s word is that power, the power of the truth. But also recognize the power of lies, that’s why news and media and corporations are always trying to spin the truth and manipulate what people believe, because knowledge is power. So recognize that there is a war of information going on in our world. And people out there have a vested interest in manipulating your opinions and how you see things. Guard against that, praying to God for discernment, a vital tool, God’s gift of discernment, ask for that spiritual gift, to discern carefully the real truth of the times we’re in. Because there are so many webs of lies in this world.
But, Jesus said, you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. Only Jesus can set us free.
So in conclusion, and in summary:- Study the message of the truth
- Believe the truth
- Receive the truth internally
- Share the truth with others - Love others in that
- Recognize the spiritual battlefield – good vs. evil
- Overcome the evil one with the love of Jesus flowing through you
- Resist the lies of the world system
- Discern the truth in this world with the help of God.
Early on hope was in short supply, and I was scared. But there was one person who came along side me in this mission and really said "yes, I’m in." His name was Scott. He did every single thing he could to help build the church, pick people up, pick up donations from stores, hand out fliers, come to events, and he never missed.
You have no idea what a big deal that was to me. One time I had asked Scott to stand at a kettle, because someone didn’t show up, just from 10 to noon. But when I came at night to pick up the kettle, there he was still standing there, because no one had came to relieve him. He stayed all day. And I got choked up in the car. I kid you not. And I got out of that car, and gave that guy a big hug. And I said, "I love you Scott."
Because guess what, my hope early on was hanging by a thread, and when someone gives you just a little bit of hope in that moment when you’re about to give up, it’s life changing! And I’ll love that guy til the day I die because of that.
And that’s what we’re talking about today. Today we’re addressing the codeword hope in our Christmas series. What is hope and how can we have it?
Hope is one of the most powerful forces in the universe. Hope is something that inspires people to change the world. It all starts with hope. Hope that something can be better. Hope that something can be different. Hope that in the future we can see something different than what we see now.
In the cold, cold winter season, the sun gets dim, the stars are covered by clouds at night, and the snows cover the ground. Winter is often a hard time for me and many others. Many struggle with seasonal affective disorder, and battle depression over the winter months.
It’s a scenario of loss of hope. You can start to think that winter will never end. Growing up in Wisconsin sometimes it felt like winter was endless. It would be so frigidly cold day after day. And it was brutal.
But if we were wise we’d have hope growing up, that soon spring would come. And sure enough, eventually, spring would come, the weather would change, and it would get warm again.
Sometimes I would lose hope, and get depressed, and then as spring would come I would be honestly shocked, wow, is it really over? I didn’t think it would ever end.
One could say we all have a hope meter inside each of us, the amount of hope we have in any given moment. Maybe my hope meter is at 100% full up, I’m centered on hope, this is where jesus wants me to be, in my mind and heart.
But then I lose someone I love, a grandparent. Then my health is troubled, and I begin experiencing chronic health problems. I begin experiencing spiritual warfare, bad moods, whispering temptations, attacks through people, and such. Spiritual warfare. Then, I start having financial problems. I have problems at work. All these problems become not momentary, but increasingly long term problems that seem chronic and unending.
Often, our hope meter is affected. That hope that was at 100% drops down to about 30%, 20%, then 10% and we are near losing hope. Meaning, we start to surrender to our doubts, we start to surrender to our pain, we start to surrender to negative and cynical thoughts.
And eventually, this is a low place, but the hope meter can hit 0% and we believe in our hearts something very terrible, we believe through and through that this will never change and never can change, and it’s over, and I’m done.
That is a dark place. I’ve been there a few times. Sometimes we can drop down to 0% for a night or a few days and we bounce back up. Sometimes that happens. Theologians call that a “dark night of the soul.” But, when it sticks, and you stay at 0% that’s what you might call a rock bottom.
It takes a lot to get there I think. It’s devastating. And there may be times that the Spirit of God will allow us to get to that point, for some reason, maybe if we’re caught in a sin, the Spirit allows us to spin our tires in the mud until we finally realize, wait, I need to turn this over to God.
So be it. God will use the loss of hope in that scenario to bring us to faith and repentance.
But it is never God’s will that we dwell in a state of perpetual hopelessness. Because we have a rock solid hope. We have our hope stayed on the victory of the Lord Jesus Christ, who has paid our sin debt, and given us new life, granted us the Holy Spirit and now walks with us everyday in victory. That is hope. And that hope is solid.
But the scriptures often speak of hope I think because in this world hope is often affected by the evil and struggle of this life. It’s not always easy to stay hopeful. So the goal here for this message is to edify and build in you a sense of renewed hope for the present and the future. That’s the goal.
What’s the point of this message? Strengthen your hope. We see the battle. The solution is firm, steady hope. Do you have a firm steady hope in Christ Jesus?
When we talk about Christmas, the birth of Jesus 2000 years ago, we’re talking about the birth of hope. We’re talking about a whole new way of life. We’re talking about a different world. In the depths of winter, when all seemed lost, and our sins seemed endless, and hell seemed our only future destination, then Jesus was born.
I never knew what that meant. I didn’t quite understand. Most people don’t it seems. It’s easy to have the TV, the fridge full of food, the nice car, the house, the beautiful family, technology, medicine, science, education, and all of it, and it can seem like a enough. It can seem like, hey, I have all I need. I don’t even need God, is the thought.
But over the years ,the cracks start to appear. The angst begins to grow. The emptiness takes over. The shame grows. We try meditation to fix it. We try soothing music. We try “wellness” or going to the gym. We try yoga. We try reading self help books. We even indulge in new age spiritualism, maybe. We get into politics. We find some charities and non profits and causes to champion. But none of it quite fixes the problem. None of it quite satisfies. We feel empty.
For Israel the hope was obvious, in the birth of the messiah. For us in the wealthy nation of the United States, it’s often less obvious. It seems distant, far away, hard ot understand why Jesus being born was such a big deal. Even growing up, watching the peanuts Christmas special, and Lionis tells us the scripture about the coming of Jesus, I didn’t get it.
For Israel, they were under oppression, under the iron boot of Rome, beset by sin, and darkness, but us today, we seem surrounded by luxury, yet in all that, we find nothing that truly satisfies.
So in the end, we find ourselves, on that dark night in the depths of winter, December 24th, exhausted and stupefied from presents and gifts and money and food and desserts and videogames and toys, and romance, and we’re exhausted, and as we look out into the night, beryodn the Christmas lights, might we realize, that what we’ve always hungered for is really Jesus Christ, a real savior, who can really save us from sin, if we will give our lives totally over to Him?
Could that be the answer we’ve always been seeking? And perhaps you say, well I’ve already received Christ as my savior, but does he really own all of you, or are you keeping him to the side, maybe you need to see again this Christmas, all over again, that everything else pales in comparison to Jesus Christ and your relationship with Him. Nothing else matters. Set it all aside again. Lay it all aside again, and put Christ first in your heart again. Fall in love with Him again. Just like you did at the very beginning, when you first believed.
To realize everything this world has to offer is garbage, trash, nothing ,and only Christ is all, and His Holy Spirit we must submit to fully to lead us, and to see Jesus and love Him deeply, that is the meaning of it all. That is what hope is.
Maybe we lose hope because we lose focus on Him. Maybe we begin cynical because we’ve forgotten our first love. Let us then return to Him in honesty, like a little child, rushing toward Jesus, in total trust, and in total love. Total trust total commitment totally given over. All in for Him.
So this is hope, to believe the promises of God, that’s what we talked about. To believe God’s promises means, because we’re in them through faith, we cling to them. And that hope is belief that it’s really true. And it will really happen. And even, that Jesus is here right now. And loves us. Hope isn’t just in something future, but hope is present now in a living savior who is here now. And faith in His love for us.
We see a great statement about faith in Romans 5, “5 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we[b] boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we[c] also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”
We find hope here and what it means. We have gained access to a place where we now stand, in the grace of God, under it, in it, awash in it, and we’re exciting celebrating and bragging on the hope of the glory of God, the hope of living in a new reality, a new place, a new future, a hope to live at the center of the glory of God, meaning, in perfect fellowship with God. Living with Him in the place where he is now. Forever.
Until then we know all of this planet growns in anticipation of that moment. We live in a fallen world. As it says in Romans 8:22-30…
It says, “22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[i] have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.”
So secondly today hope is something we wait in. Hope is about waiting long periods of time, waiting for what God has promised to be ours. Hope is a marathon, it’s not a quick thing. I remember counting down the days to Christmas when I was young and it seemed to go by so slowly. But I kept hoping and waiting, knowing it was coming.
That’s how it is for me as well as a Christian, I’m waiting for the City of God. I know it’s coming. Plain as day. Plain as Christmas will come this year, the city of God is as real as that.
But the art and skill of hope is waiting patiently over extended periods of time, staying in hope.
It’s like resting in God’s grace. We’re in it right now. We could step out of it. But we choose to stay in God’s grace, by staying in faith.
Similarly, we want to stay “in Hope” we can leave hope too, and start to doubt, and get cycnical and depressed, and sorrowful. That’s when we start to abandon hope. We give it up, say no, theres no point anymore, I’m done. I’m giving up.
There are always nights and days when I struggle to not give up some level of hope, and allow just a little bit of cynicism in. So the battle of the heart and soul is to stay in hope even when life gets hard and crazy and long and painful and difficult.
But stay in hope. Remain in that place of hope. You can do that. It’s not easy. You can do that. Stay in hope.
Romans 15:8-13 For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth, so that the promises made to the patriarchs might be confirmed 9 and, moreover, that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written:“Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles;
I will sing the praises of your name.”
10 Again, it says,
“Rejoice, you Gentiles, with his people.”
11 And again,
“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles;
let all the peoples extol him.”
12 And again, Isaiah says,
“The Root of Jesse will spring up,
one who will arise to rule over the nations;
in him the Gentiles will hope.”
13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
I think in Romans 15 we see how God helps us to stay in hope.
Our hope meter starts to drop as we face difficulties. It’s at 100%. But then we get a bad flu. It drops to 90%. Then a family member dies. It drops to 70%, then we have work problems, disagreements with coworkers, 60%, then an argument on facebook, 55% then our bank account drops into the negative 45%, and on and on and pretty soon it’s down to like 10%.
And then God responds by rebuilding our hope. He rebuilds it with two things, joy and peace.
Joy is when we experience beautiful God-led moments. Family. Friends. Conversations. Worship. Excitement. Beauty.
Peace is when we experience a general comfort in life by living close to God in relationship.
Lastly, I want to point you to Hebrews 11:1-2 “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for.”
Let’s break it down.
Faith is confidence.
In what? In what we hope for.
Faith is assurance of real hope.
Our faith is a commitment to hope.
But it’s hard because it’s in things we do not see.
Hope is confident faith in God’s promises. It’s all connected back to God’s promises and knowing they are true. Then we have hope, which is confident faith.
