The King Is Born

Readers died just recently ran a story about a man by the name of William McEwen and his experience with his obsessive-compulsive wife cooking Christmas cookies She was a little OCD and so she always followed the instructions exactly Regardless of what was actually happening in the kitchen So he was not too surprised when he smelled the Well-known familiar odor of burning cookies in the kitchen He hollered out from the living room. They're burning She hollered back very politely and calmly. I might say she hollered back. I know His next response was are you gonna get him out of the oven? And her response was the recipe says they still have six minutes Now those of you who are laughing you're a little bit OCD Those of you who have a puzzled expression on your face you have no clue what that's about you don't get the story Those of you who are shaking your heads are married to someone who is OCD Well, I believe that if you and I were commissioned to write the script And give God a report as to how he should send his son into the world It would probably look a lot different than the script we find for us in the gospels The story in the gospel just seems to go against all of our common sense about how affairs like this should be handled I mean, this is the most glorious event to ever happen in human history and So this has got to be done right we got to follow all the rules on this one I mean, there's got to be a publicity blitz leading up to this that would be worthy of a Star Wars premiere There's got to be the finesse and planning and an execution of a royal wedding I mean everybody has to know about this and it has to be done in such a way that the whole world sees the grand Splinter of God sending his son into the world and yet that is not at all what we find in the gospel accounts It is 180 degrees opposite of that In fact in the early centuries of the church there were evidently some who were a little embarrassed by the simplicity of the biblical story and so they began to add traditions and legends to the the gospel accounts that have found their way into our Understanding of Christmas sometimes even in our Christmas songs and hymns for instance Mary experiencing no pain as she delivers the child or Heavenly light from Christ kind of glowing through the stable or the baby did not even cry Well, none of those are realistic none of those are certainly found in the text of scripture But they found their way into our Christmas traditions in order to kind of spice it up a little bit You know make it more of a legend make him a real hero Well, God did not see fit to introduce his son into the world like we feel like it should be done But what we're going to do this morning is we're going to stick with the biblical script That Luke's gospel portrays for us so Luke chapter 2 we're going to look at what God decided the script should look like and how his The entrance of his son into the world should go Actually as Luke tells the story he tells this drama in three acts The first is the circumstances surrounding his birth the second is the announcement of his birth and the third is the response to his birth We're only going to take the first one of those this morning and then we'll finish up the story next week a Couple days after Christmas, okay? So we're just going to look at the circumstances surrounding Christ's birth as God writes the script as Luke under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit records it for us in his gospel in the first Seven verses the circumstances surrounding Christ's birth are surprising yet impressive simple yet profound And I think what we will see as the in the midst of the surprising Simplicity of the story there is an impressive Prefundancy about the whole story as well. It is deep It is packed with meaning about God and about Christ and about us So let's see what the script of God has to say about the circumstances surrounding the birth of Christ Luke begins the story in these First four verses by describing the God's Provincial working actually in the first six verses of the chapter by describing God's Provincial working in the whole scene the whole pulling off of the birth of his son Now the word providence is a word that is used to describe the fact that God is in control of all of the circumstances And we're going to see that in the story in Working out his plan and purpose in this universe and in our lives God is in control of all the circumstances and the word that's used to describe his control in Working out all of the circumstances to fulfill his purpose and plan is the word providence God's providence And so we're talking about his providential working now here's what has to happen Mary and Joseph Need to get 90 miles away from where they are They are living in Nazareth in Northern Galilee and The Bible says by way of prophecy that Jesus is supposed to be born in Bethlehem The prophet Micah as you'll see on the screen Micah chapter 5 and verse 2 But you Bethlehem Ephraim though you are small among the clans of Judah out of you Will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel whose origins are from the old from ancient times or from evermore From eternity past The one that's spoken of there is the Messiah and Micah clearly says hundreds of years before Jesus is born He must be born in Bethlehem But up until days before Mary is due to deliver they are 90 miles away in Nazareth And this is not an easy trip to make oh 90 miles away Let's just hop in the old Oath's mobile and we're down the road we can get there in an hour and a half no It was by donkey or by walking we're talking At least three maybe five days to get there we're going to show you a map. You know, I love maps Regardless whether or not you can see it. I enjoy it. I love it. And so we're going to look at a map Sorry, it's good from up here Here's Nazareth this is actually a A satellite view of the land of Israel and so you may be able to see the two main bodies of water The sea of Galilee in the Dead Sea The 65 miles between those two given the route that Mary and Joseph would have to take it might have been 85 or 90 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem they were living up here Bethlehem is way down here and the route they would go through would be through some of the hills of Galilee along the Jordan plain Cross the Jordan River down the Jordan plain to Jericho right in this area across the Jordan River and then an arduous climb up about a three to four thousand foot Grade in 17 miles to the city of Jerusalem But you're not done when you get to Jerusalem you still got to go five to six miles south to Bethlehem It was it was an arduous trip and up until days before she's due to have the baby They're way far away from where they're supposed to be And so how's God going to get this done? How is he going to fulfill his Old Testament prophecy that the baby his son must be born in Bethlehem That's the majestic story of God's providential working and Luke describes him working first of all in the first four verses in world events God's providential working in world events. I mean God is moving world events to accomplish this Look at verse one in those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world This was the first census that took place while Carineus was governor of Syria and everyone went to his own town to register So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea to Bethlehem the town of David Because he belonged to the house and line of David God is orchestrating world events To get Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem To accomplish the fulfillment of prophecy in the birth of his son He moves in the heart of the Roman Emperor the most powerful man in all of the world to issue a decree That everyone in the Roman Empire has to register for a census Now that means you had to go to a The pound center or the place where records are kept you had to enter your name your occupation List all your property and your kinfolk Now the purpose for this was obviously for taxation There were only two reasons why the Roman government ever issued a census One was for a military draft or getting people into their army The other was for taxation most likely this one was for taxation And so God can even use The order of government to tax its citizens to accomplish his purpose now that is quite amazing right that shows the power of God That's what he's doing so this decree is ordered by Augustus And that's what initiates Mary and Joseph to go to Bethlehem Mary and Joseph are no more known to this mighty Roman Emperor than you and I are to Vladimir Putin But God's moving in the heart of the most powerful man on earth I'm not saying Vladimir Putin is the most powerful man on earth today. He may be but God is moving in the heart of Caesar Augustus To get Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem The whole reason for this this decree and this taxation and all that's happening people moving all over the Roman world to accomplish this is to get His son born in Bethlehem God is at work in world events But why in Bethlehem? Well, we know from a biblical perspective But why would Augustus require that you go to the the family home of your ancestors? Well interestingly enough the Romans typically did not do that Throughout the empire that was not the case you could just register in your hometown for purposes of taxation But but Augustus was a kind and generous ruler He was the first of the Roman emperors and considered by most historians to be the best of the Roman emperor And he had a policy that he he would let nationality and ethnic groups of people that he had conquered pretty much Uh do their own thing Follow their own rules within the bigger umbrella of the Roman government You know, they would they would be allowed to do what was customary for them Knowing how important family lineage was to the Jews Now knowing how important it was to establish you came from a certain tribe a certain family a certain line He made it possible for at least those in Israel to go to their hometowns of their ancestors That was not necessarily happening in other parts of the Roman world, but it would happen in Israel God saw fit God saw to it That there would be a man on The throne a man in the imperial palace in Rome at just the time his son was coming into the world And as this young man would grow up Augustus As he was being developed and as he was positioning himself as he was put into power God was in charge of putting just the right man in control at just the right time who would have just the right policies To ensure that Mary and Joseph would make their way 90 miles south For his son to be born in fulfillment of prophecy Listen, God is in control of world events God is in control of everything that happens in this world There's a lesson that we can learn from that and it's this Our God is the Lord of history History really is Story because God is moving events and men and women and people According to his plan and his timetable God's in control of all of that Did you know that God raises up people to rule The kind of people he wants to rule for a particular time and a particular purpose But sometimes we may wonder why certain rulers are ruling in certain parts of the world But God has a much bigger plan for this world that will eventually in his fulfillment of prophecy in the future And everything that's happening in this world moves us to that grand end and purpose of God And so God has a design in everyone he allows to be in power Daniel knew that Daniel chapter two Daniel said in verse 19 Daniel praised the God of heaven He's about ready to interpret a dream for Nebuchadnezzar And he said praise be to the name of God forever and ever And I notice this wisdom and power are his he changes times and seasons He deposes kings and raises up others God is in control Nebuchadnezzar Daniel was saying of who rules over the kingdom of Babylon Nebuchadnezzar was the most powerful man of his day And Daniel was reminding him that God put you in your place Nebuchadnezzar would recognize that later on when God judged him by sending him out into the fields eat grass like an ox And he would come to the same conclusion Daniel chapter four Notice what he says in verse 17. This is the word. These are the words of Nebuchadnezzar The king of Babylon the decision is announced by messengers the holy ones to clear the verdict So that the living may know that the most high is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth And gives them to anyone he wishes and sets over them the loliest of people Nebuchadnezzar is referring to himself Denim verse 35 of that same chapter he goes on to say all the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing He does as he pleases With the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth No one can hold back his hand or say to him what have you done So the next time you begin to question why God is allowing things on planet earth Just remind yourself of what the scriptures say even though we may not see why or however things gonna work out Be assured our God is the lord of history He is moving all of human history in direct accord with his plan and purpose for what he wants to happen in the future Not all of it's gonna look pretty from our side of things but mark it down God is moving according to his plan and purpose We can take comfort in that now. Please don't misunderstand that that doesn't mean that we should be fatalistic That doesn't mean that we should say well, okay. Why should I try to do anything about why should I even vote after all the bible teaches God's gonna put in power who he wants in power. So why should I even care the Reason why you should care and the reason why you should fulfill your Duty as a citizen in this kind of government that we have a representative democracy is because we are responsible as citizens not only as believers But we are responsible to be believing citizens Christian citizens who vote and speak their conscience in matters of the state Romans 13 talks about that not only submission but praying forward interacting with being involved in the process So I'm not talking about fatalism here, but I am talking about whatever happens whatever the results Of the process might look like from our perspective. We can rest in the fact that God is in control And he is accomplishing his purpose for human history So God is at work in world events to bring about the birth of his son, but secondly God is also providentially at work in one man's heart Man named Joseph God is working in his heart his thinking the inclinations and desires of his own heart to accomplish his purpose for the birth of his son verse 5 He speaking of Joseph he went there to Bethlehem to register with Mary Who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child He goes to Bethlehem with Mary God moves in his heart in his thought process In the inclinations and desires of his will To get him to take Mary with him Now in a Roman census Women were also responsible to register for the census But they didn't necessarily have to do so in person If it was difficult for both to get there the husband could do it for his wife So why does Joseph take Mary with him especially in her condition? She is due to deliver a baby at any time And so why would he risk this long journey over difficult terrain walking and riding on a donkey? Why would he do that? God was moving in his heart I think probably it had something to do with the fact he knew her time was near obviously And he did not want to leave her in Nazareth while he was gone Think about their situation for a moment. Just think about it Everybody knows how long they've been married She their pledge they're still engaged but the angel has already told Joseph and Matthew one to go ahead and take her as his wife So everybody knows how long they've been married Everybody also knows how long she's been expecting Do the math And she comes up with this story Of an angel appearing to her And telling her that she would have a baby as a virgin Sure what a convenient story to explain away an embarrassing situation Probably nobody in Bethlehem in in Nazareth believed her I would suspect not even her own parents believed her I mean Joseph didn't believe her did he He didn't believe her until an angel finally came to him and kind of knocked him in the head and said come on get with the program Joseph that's King John version by the way Little little different than Matthews But basically an angel had to explain to him what was going on so that he would understand it He didn't believe Mary he was ready to go through a public divorce proceeding So I don't think anybody else in Nazareth would have believed that story So how do you think Mary was treated in Nazareth probably not very well? I think Joseph did not want to leave her by himself by herself But even even God was at work in his thought process and his desires in his inclination to protect Mary And his desire to have her with him I think God was at work in his heart To move him to take Mary with him Yes, it's gonna be a difficult journey and you don't know what could happen along the way But God moves in his heart Just like God moves in our hearts There's a lesson to be learned from this The lesson is this Our God is not only the Lord of history Our God is also the Lord of the circumstances of our lives We know the verse don't we we can all quote it or most most can probably quote or at least you've heard it You're familiar with it Romans 8 28 And we know that God in all things God works for the good of those who love him who have been called according to his purpose So we know that God works all things together For good for his good for those who love him and are called according to his we know The verse It's just hard to see it in our lives sometimes But rest assured God's word is true God works all circumstances for good in our lives Sometimes we see that amazing working of God in the timing of circumstances in our lives Sometimes we don't see it sometimes we don't even understand what purpose God is working out But he is working out his purpose his plan through all the circumstances of our lives Do everything that happens? both good and bad You say does God calls the evil or the bad? No He allows it in a sin cursed world as a part of the natural outworking of man's sin and the curse upon this world and The way the human heart has been rendered sinful by he allows all of that But he works it all together in his plan to ultimately bring his good in our lives I mentioned last week that Jeanne and I had recently been to The Billy Graham Library in Charlotte marvelous amazing depiction of museum of his life and ministry and One of the men who served alongside him for over 50 years um was Cliff Barrows His song director in all of his crusades The story of how the two of those met is is really an amazing story of God's providence um Cliff in 1945 was getting married to his fiance Billy and they didn't have much money, but they'd scraped together enough money to take a little honeymoon And so they show up at this Hotel where they're supposed to have their honeymoon until their shock and horror they find out the hotel has been closed It's been turned into a rehab facility a medical facility. There's no place for them to stay It was kind of out in the middle of the boondocks and so they have to hitchhike their way back To the nearest gas station little service center that they could find And the owner of that establishment had pity on them and allowed them to stay in a room upstairs over the gas station that night But he said you know the next day when he found out who they were and there were believers He was a believer too. He said you know, I've got a friend that's got a really nice large home I bet he would allow you to stay there and so he made the arrangements sure enough it worked out So they went to stay with this other family for the remainder of their honeymoon Well, it just so happens that this family Also were believers and they were attending a youth rally every night and so they asked Cliff and Billy said would you like to go with us tonight and they said what sure we'd love to go and so they go to this youth rally And it just so happens that that night the guy who was gonna lead the music was sick and couldn't be there Well, by now the host had found out that that Cliff Barrows was an associate pastor in a church. He led music So he asked him would you be willing to fill in the cliffs? I'm sure I'd be glad to do that and so he got up and led the music For that youth rally that night just before a very young evangelist stood up to preach whose name was Billy Graham That's how they first met Now tell me the fingerprints of God are not all over that Tell me that God is not orchestrating all those circumstances To not find out ahead of time that the place you're gonna spend your honeymoon has been shut down To have to hitchhike back to the nearest little gas station Just so happens the owner of that is a believer who takes pity on them Who just so happens to have a friend with a larger house? Oh and that friend just so happens to be attending a youth rally And they they just happen to go one night and it just so happens that the night they're there the song leader is sick I mean God's hand is all over that Now put yourself in Cliff Barrows shoes and I'm not sure how you felt when he got to the hotel where the thought he was gonna spend His honeymoon and he finds out it's not open anymore At least for honeymooners, it's not you got to be sick to get in Can you imagine what he felt what he's thinking what about as he's out in the road hitchhiking to get somewhere I mean he probably thinks oh my plans are falling apart But God's plan is not falling apart See God's plan is just starting to work out God is in control of all of those circumstances as difficult as they must have seemed to them at that time God is in control of all of those things and he is in your life and mine too So whatever's going on in your life you're coming up on Christmas and stuff's not going right And stuff's going on with your family that you hate and things are happening with your health that you're you're concerned about and all kinds of things are represented that could be happening wrong or bad in our estimation here But rest assured God is in control of everything that happens in your life Even as you walk with him your thought process your desires the inclinations of your heart the decisions you make you can trust God to be moving in those I love Psalm 37.4 come You delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart Doesn't mean if you read your Bible every day you get everything you want That's not the idea if you delight yourself in the Lord If your focus in life is to have him delight in you and to live obediently to him and in submission to him and walking with him in his spirit If that's the focus of your life Then God gives you the desires of your heart what that means is he gives you those desires He implants his desires in your heart and then he fulfills them So if you're walking with God you can trust Even the decisions you make and the desires of your heart to be his leading God is it work in the circumstances of your life today Wherever you are and whatever those circumstances may be it certainly was for Joseph I wonder as he walked that long journey To Bethlehem. I just wonder if he ever muttered about a Roman dictator that would make a sign up for taxes I wonder if he ever muttered about the difficulty of the journey I wonder if he ever complained about the wagging tongues of Nazareth that would not let him feel comfortable about leaving his wife at home And yet God was using all of those things to accomplish his purpose Hidden God great Isn't he amazing and he awesome He is the Lord of history He is the Lord of the circumstances of our lives, but notice God was also providentially at work in the timing of the birth I love the way verse six reads While they were there notice the emphasis on timing while they were there Which the the implication is they were not expecting to be there for very long They were going to go register for the census maybe rest up a few days To be able to be ready for the journey to go back and they were headed back to Nazareth While they were there The time came For the baby to be born. I love the way the Holy Spirit moved Luke to write that You know if I were writing the story I probably would know well, you know while they were in Bethlehem she started into labor While they were there in Bethlehem She had the baby No, no God focuses on the timing of it Now think that's what he's getting us to look at what he's wanting us to focus on While they were there in the the right timing The time came Who's time Joseph's time probably not Mary's time. Oh, well, what can she do about it? But it's God's time Because God has providentially already moved a world ruler and the heart of a young carpenter To get them to Bethlehem and God knows That his son will be born in Bethlehem And so this is God's time God is working in the timing of his birth The baby does not come in the rough and difficult journey on the way The baby does not come after they leave and get back to Nazareth it is While they were there The time came In God's timing Jesus would be born In Bethlehem which leads me to a third lesson in this story a wonderful lesson to remember for all of us And it is this our God is faithful to his promises Micah 5 to that great promise of the prophet would be fulfilled regardless Mary and Joseph days before the birth 90 miles away But God's promise will be fulfilled He will be born in Bethlehem So God is faithful to his promises no matter what is taking place and no matter what it takes To fulfill his promise the same thing is true in your life and in mind You know God's made us a promise as to what his purpose and will is for all of us We looked earlier at Romans 8 28 and we know that all things work together for good to them Who love God to those who are the call according to his purpose Now what that purpose is talking about is the working together it refers back to that It's not just being called according to his purpose But he's working all things together for his purpose And verse 29 of that chapter tells us what his purpose is For whom he did 4-0 Then he also did predestinate mark out before time In eternity past what for what to be conformed to the image of his son That he might be the first born among many brethren or the first the most important Of those who bear a family resemblance who are like him So the purpose of God in your life what he has called you to is to be like Christ That's his ultimate promise in all of our lives is for us to be like Christ Now we like the promises my God shall supply your needs according to his riches and glory by Christ Jesus We like those kind of promises where the promises that God will direct our way or he will give us health and strength We like those kind of promises But the ultimate umbrella promise that covers them all is the promise that he is at work through every circumstance of your life To fulfill his purpose in you to make you more like Jesus And sometimes that takes difficulty and it takes trial and heartache and hardship But it's all a part of that which God works together for his good For for his good the good that he determines Not good as we view it But the good that he determines and that is his purpose in our lives to make us more like Jesus He will be faithful to that promise So whatever it is you're concerned about this Christmas season Whatever it is that's not seeming to work right for you and your family Not seeming to be quite where you'd like it to be Get alone with God and trust him to use whatever it is To conform you more to the image of Christ and thus fulfill his big promise in your life He's faithful to his promises God's awesome And I love this script because it focuses not on some grand regal interest into the world But it focuses on an awesome God Who is working in control of world events the hearts and inclination desires of two people from Nazareth and in the timing of his birth So Luke describes for us these these amazing works of God The providential working of God But then he also describes Jesus humble surroundings in verse 7 Look at verse 7 maybe the most familiar part of the Christmas story And she gave birth to her firstborn a son She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn This verse really does highlight the humble surroundings into which Jesus was born Let's start at the end of the verse with the inn Now I am certainly aware of all of the debate today about what the inn was and there are many who are writing today that it was Actually a house maybe a house that belonged to relatives where there would be a room for guests and that room was filled And that may be but if there are distant relatives of Joseph's in Bethlehem They don't show up anywhere in the story They're not there to help Mary when she has the baby. I really question That that whole argument most most who write on this most new testament scholars believe that the term The inn with the definite article the inn which designates it as a particular well-known place For strangers to lodge Is actually that somewhat similar to a motel today not quite the same But somewhat similar where guests or caravans passing through would have a place to stay I Believe that's probably what was happening here But the point is there's no room there Well, whatever it was there's no room Now we can wax eloquent then spend a lot of time thinking about why where people so cold harder they wouldn't give up their room Was the inn keeper so stingy and cold-hearted He wouldn't have any pity we don't know that the Bible doesn't tell us that There's a whole theology around the inn keeper That really is an argument from silence. We don't know why we just know they're one room They're one room So they are pushed toward a stable and we know that it's a stable some kind of place where animals are kept and fed Because of the mention of the manger which is a feeding trough for Animals but let's think about the stable for a minute Typically in middle eastern ends like the one probably referred to here There was some kind of enclosure out back for travelers to leave their animals So that they could be protected and fed and quite often that would be a small opening or even a cave dug out of a hillside So that animals could get under that and could Could be safe and could be fed and cared for During the night The earliest Christian tradition that we know of goes all the way back to the two hundreds Indicates that it was indeed a cave Associated with this inn where animals were kept In the three hundreds 326 to be exact The emperor Constantine who converted to Christianity started building churches all over the the holy land And he built one in Bethlehem He built one over the traditional scene and this goes all the way back to the two hundreds again Where Jesus was supposed to be born? Is it the exact place? No way of knowing for sure But there was a cave there and they covered this cave with a church Now here's a picture of what the church would have looked like an artist rendering of it in three 26 It looks a little different today Uh, but the band could tell you what it looks like and uh, I have some pictures as well, but this is probably what it looked like Back in the three hundreds Here's a cut out of that church next picture Uh, with the structure as it actually appears today, but it's a cut out cutting away the roof and actually the first floor in here all the way down into a Basement area you have to go down steps to get down there Where there is an enclosure over what used to be a cave you can't really see much of the cave anymore Because it's covered by this now Notice what it looks like in the next picture It's covered by this ornate elaborate tapestry marble floors Candles precious metals a star here of precious metals Designating the area where Jesus was born it really um, I would prefer just to see a cave You know it would be more realistic. This is the way it's been pictured and dressed up and memorialized But I can guarantee you it did not have any beautiful tapestries and lit candles and marble floors in when Jesus was born It was a stable It was a place where animals are kept it's loud. It's smelly. It's full of hay. They're fed through the night That's what it was like There's a church in Chicago Laundale Community Church was is not too far from where our daughter Ruth lives One time Laundale Community Church decided to decorate their Auditorium for Christmas little differently They brought in a bunch of hay bales of hay and stacked it at the front and then they actually brought in calmanure And spread it all over those those bales of hay and Were the people in for quite a shock when they came to church that morning I mean it didn't smell like this auditorium this morning But it was probably more realistic Now please Those of you who do such a beautiful job of decorating. I'm not suggesting that we do that I love the way that you decorate and thank you for making it so beautiful in here Please don't bring hay and calmanure next year, but they wanted to make a point This is probably what it smelled like At the place where Jesus was born I mean this this is This is so crude this is so Simple and bear and ugly Is that the way god brings his son into the world? Yes, it is in a stable And then verse seven mentions a manger and I know what we think of when we think of a manger We think of our Christmas cards, you know the beautiful wooden Mangers beautifully carefully designed and built by a master craftsman in his workshop That's not at all what a manger was like in that day This is what a manger looked like in the first century It's just a piece of stone a big piece of rock that's been crudely chiseled out to be able to hold some hay To feed the animals. It's a feed trough is what it is and the most crude that you can imagine That's a manger. I mean we know because their excavations By archaeologists all through the Middle East that uncover these Feeding troughs for horses and other animals. This is a manger So redo your Christmas card. This is the way it looked If there's nothing elaborate about this Everything about Jesus birth speaks of obscurity poverty Rejection and this is for the most Amazing glorious event of all human history up to this point It It seems as though God is not one bit concerned about style about pre Uh publicity About the whole world knowing and not being able to miss what's going on God breaks all the rules Fashion designers roll out a new line of clothing and all the jet-setters go to Paris and the biggest most elaborate Hall where they see the clothing demonstrated for them Car manufacturers roll out the new model and they rent the biggest most elaborate hall in Detroit or New York or Houston And roll out their new model to the glitch and glamour of the wealthy and well-known in our country The president wants to make a policy announcement and every detail about the presentation is scripted To impress and to get out the news immediately an army of news people are there to take notes and to film it and to get the word out quickly Everybody knows what's happening God broke all the rules all of our rules All of the way that we think it should be done and here's why Second Corinthians 8 verse 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ That though he was rich Yet for your sake He became poor So that you through his poverty Might become rich Jesus gave up all the riches All the glitz and glamour if you want to call it that of heaven All the publicity of an untold Millions and millions of angels Worshiping him That's the riches of heaven He gave that up He left it And became poor I mean even coming to this earth is poverty for him no matter how you would have lived here But he wanted to make sure we understood That he's not only becoming One of us in the sense that he's just flesh and blood But he's going to live isolated in some palace somewhere No, he's going to live really like one of us even the lowest of us And he wants us to know that he has become poor for our sake So that through him through Christ through our Savior We can enjoy the riches that he left in heaven We can become rich Not here it's not what he's talking about He's talking about heavenly riches those are the riches Jesus left those are the ones he promises us And so why all of this script What why does Jesus leave everything and come in such humble pure Dastolate rejected surroundings because it is a postcard of what his life will be like and what he's death will be like He did it for your sake and he did it for my sake. He did it for our salvation So that all of us might understand no matter who we are no matter how lonely our lives may be that he came for us He came for you He came to die for you for your sins so that you might be saved Oh, okay, so it's not the script I would have written Probably not the script you would have written either But it is exactly what God intended To show what Christ gave up For you and for me You see obviously God is not concerned About impressing man with his entry into the world if by impressing You mean that he wants to appeal to man to dazzle his senses By a spectacular display of royal splendor if that's what you mean by impressive God's not the least bit concerned about that But I'll tell you what when I read God's script I am impressed I'm impressed with the awesomeness of a God who is in control of world events and in control of the personal Circumstances of our lives and in control of the timing of our lives. I'm impressed With the way he pulled off the birth of his son And I am impressed with a Savior that would visually demonstrate even in his birth the reason why he came to give up riches to become one of us So that we might have his riches with him and heaven someday Through faith in him as our Savior. I'm impressed with that So it all depends I guess on what kind of impression we're looking for at Christmas time Is it the Hollywood kind or is it God's kind God is more about substance than style God is more about us understanding that he is an awesome amazing powerful God who is in control of all things And he also wants us to see he doesn't want us to miss this that he sent his son Jesus for the purpose of giving up heavens riches So that we through his poverty through his death on the cross Might share those riches with him and heaven someday Do you know Jesus? Do you know him as your Savior? Do you know this mighty awesome God that we talked about this morning Let's pray together Father, thank you for the script that you wrote Lord the more we look at it the more we realize it is so much better than ours So much better than the movie we would have made or the play we would have done It is your story and it is a story of your awesome power and majesty and a story of the amazing humility that Jesus came into For us to be our Savior Maybe we rejoice in the fact that we have a powerful God Maybe we also rejoice in the fact that we have a loving Savior And I pray for anyone who does not know you personally and know your son from trusting him To come into that personal relationship with you today In Jesus name we pray Amen