SALUTING THE LIBERATED WOMAN

#108                                                   SALUTING THE LIBERATED WOMAN                                                                          

Scripture Luke 1:46-55; 2:4-7, 33-35, 40 NIV                                                                                             Orig. 5/10/64

                                                                                                                                                                       Rewr. 5-9-86 (5/77) 

Passage: Luke 1 

⁴⁶ And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord
⁴⁷     and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
⁴⁸ for he has been mindful
    of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
⁴⁹     for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
    holy is his name.
⁵⁰ His mercy extends to those who fear him,
    from generation to generation.
⁵¹ He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
    he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
⁵² He has brought down rulers from their thrones
    but has lifted up the humble.
⁵³ He has filled the hungry with good things
    but has sent the rich away empty.
⁵⁴ He has helped his servant Israel,
    remembering to be merciful
⁵⁵ to Abraham and his descendants forever,
    just as he promised our ancestors.”

Luke 2

⁴ 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. ⁵ He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶ While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷ and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

³³ The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. ³⁴ Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, ³⁵ so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

⁴⁰ And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.

Purpose:  On the occasion of Mother’s Day, to share with my people a particular understanding of the meaning of Women’s Liberation

Keywords:          Dedication          Duty      Liberation            Marriage              Motherhood                      Special Day

Introduction

                Before allowing Mary to testify to us of a truly liberated woman, may I call your attention to her Old Testament counterpart, named Esther.  History paints a rather dim picture of woman’s place during her day.  There were no feminine aspirations to equality, and the men were intent on keeping it that way. Esther and others like her lived in the crucible of inequality.

                Just before Esther makes her timely appearance, the beautiful Vashti was queen.  But now she has been deposed.  She embarrassed her husband and benefactor, the powerful King Ahasuerus, of Media/Persia and “125 other provinces from India to Ethiopia.”  Vashti had been summoned to come and parade her beauty before the lustful eyes of the lesser princes of the realm.  She refused.  Now there is liberation.  However, the menfolks decided that unless the king acted swiftly, this kind of uppitiness was sure to catch on with their wives.  We are not told that she was punished, only that she was deposed, stripped of her royal estate.  My knowledge of the period is limited, but Vashti would have been better off dead.

                Herein steps Esther.  That’s like following Nixon in the White House, or Edwards in the State House.  Esther, did you learn anything?  Esther, did you learn anything?  Do you know to come when you are called? Otherwise, enjoy yourself in the lap of luxury.

                Esther had an older kinsman who saw her in this new role as a standard bearer for Hebrew liberation.  Perhaps a dark-skinned Joan of Arc.  She just wanted her skin left intact.  Don’t forget that it was Mordecai, the kinsman, who was at fault in this mess.  The Jews were in the hotbox they were in because Mordecai would not bow before and reverence one of the king’s princes.  So, Mordecai challenges Esther, “Who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”  It is to the truly liberated women who have functioned with queenly honor in a man’s world that this salute is addressed.

I.             The Liberated Woman’s Devotion of Faith.  Luke 1:46 “And Mary said, ‘My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour.”  It is the devotion to achieve what she can, while she can, where she can, to the glory of God.  You have the privilege of living in the world’s finest hour for women’s rights.  Don’t forget the achievements of your sisters: Sarah, Deborah, Ruth, Esther, Mary, Joan of Arc, Florence Nightingale.  Do those at the forefront today deserve the credit? It was an idea whose time had come.  Many think equality discounts God because He is male.

                The New Orleans Times Picayune printed an article written by a nun about God the Mother.  Did she believe it, or was it cleverness?  We have some right to get away from terms of God’s sexuality.  God the Father still says something that God the Person never will.  He is wholly Other.

                So, we are making peace with old and often outmoded concepts.  There are men who want to keep their women subservient.

Genesis 2:18, King James Version: “I will make him an helpmeet for him.”

Me: “I will make him his counterpart to complement and complete him.”

Society is not dependent on “family as we have known it,” but on family.  In the dimension of faith, if woman chooses equality, she loses uniqueness. 

Statistics show greater equality, also, lung cancer, sclerosis, heart disease. Statistic: Less than 100 of 1000 women between 15-44 are married; babies are having babies; abortion on demand; etc.

Women’s truest liberator and liberation is in the dimension of faith.  Some go for headlines: “Six Woman Basketball Illegal,” “All Boys’ Choir Falls Victim to Women’s Lib.”  But the real discovery is that of Faith: “My soul magnifies the Lord, My spirit rejoices in God my Saviour.”  Therein she becomes the enabler—the Christian mother.

II.            The Liberated Woman’s Detachment for Her Husband.  Luke 2:4, “And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, . . . unto Bethlehem, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child.”  The consensus of concern remains that the husband be the provider of sustenance.  It becomes more difficult for one income to suffice.  In either case, the wife becomes the principal enabler.  She is more often the one called upon to make sacrifices to complement her life to that of her husband.  The Biblical record sustains this.

                But the place of authority figure is not the intent.  The first compulsion of God on female or male is faith.  I like what a sainted seminary professor used to say, “The wife submits, not because she has found her master, but because her heart has found its rest.”

III.           The Liberated Woman’s Duty in Motherhood.  Luke 2:7, “She brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”  She was called upon, as mothers often are, to make fullest use of circumstances.  A cattle stall became a castle under a loving mother’s hand. 

She was called upon, as mothers often are, to begin as early as possible to complement and supplement spiritual instruction. Knowing what they are learning that is potentially harmful is half the battle.  Tipper Gore fought for moral responsibility in popular music. 

She was called upon, as mothers often are, to pray unendingly for God’s sustenance, encouraging them outside the nest while knowing the dangers and counteracting.  Ecclesiastes 11:9, “Rejoice, . . . in your youth and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth; walk in the ways of your heart, and in the sight of your eyes; but know that from all these, God will bring you into judgment.”  But, you see, this is a happy eventuality when the child has learned that the judgment of God is to be trusted.

She was called upon, as mothers often are, to challenge to seek and follow God’s will as He reveals it.  Liberation for its own right is a basket of summer fruit, rotten and contaminated.  One can make peace with God’s will.

Driving from Alexandria to Baton Rouge, I met a young man on his way west about twenty miles out of Baton Rouge.  He was a rover.  Across his chest was a guitar.  On his back he carried his backpack, complete with a map of his itinerary.  All of this while he pedaled a monocycle.  He claimed liberation.  Some might claim that he was being victimized by this roving spirit.

Conclusion

                Devotion to Christ!  Detachment for husband and family!  Duty!  These are the clarion calls of true liberation.  Someone has said, “When a woman is possessed by Jesus Christ, something more significant happens to her than could ever happen to a man.”

                Khalil Gibran, in his book, “Jesus, the Son of Man,” includes what he interprets to be the feeling that Mary Magdalene had for Jesus.  “Then Jesus looked at her and said, ‘You have many lovers, yet I alone love you.  Other men love themselves in your nearness, I love you in yourself.  Other men see beauty in you that shall fade away sooner than their own years. I see a beauty in you that shall not fade away, and in the autumn of your days that beauty shall not be afraid to gaze at itself in the mirror, and it shall not be offended.’”

CROWDS ABOUT THE CROSS

#096                                                          CROWDS ABOUT THE CROSS                                                                                 

Scripture  Luke 23:26-43 NIV                                                                                                                              Orig. 5-6-62

                                                                                                                                                                       Rewr. (8-76)  3-5-89 

Passage:  ²⁶ As the soldiers led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. ²⁷ A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. ²⁸ Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. ²⁹ For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the childless women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ ³⁰ Then

“‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!”’^{[a] 31} For if people do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?” ³² Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. ³³ When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. ³⁴ Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”^[b] And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.  ³⁵ The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”

³⁶ The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar ³⁷ and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”  ³⁸ There was a written notice above him, which read: this is the king of the jews. ³⁹ One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”  ⁴⁰ But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? ⁴¹ We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”  ⁴² Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.^[c]”  ⁴³ Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Purpose:  Approaching Easter, to speak to my people of variant attitudes about Jesus’ death, and the determination that He died in our place.

Keywords:          Christ as Saviour                               Faith                      Special Day, Easter          Crucifixion           Man/Sin

Timeline/Series: Prior to Easter 

Introduction

                It is not necessary for us to travel very far to encounter crowds.  They are everywhere we go, and their reasons for being where they are, are as numerous as the people themselves.

                We find these crowds at our malls, our cotillions of commerce.  They are there to shop, some even to spend money.  But many others are there for the purpose of seeing and being seen.

                Again, we may find the crowds at ball games, at religious conventions, at historic sites, at school convocations, at pageants and festivals, or speeding down the already unsafe highways.

                They gather in the mountains, at the beach, at parades commemorating such themes as Mardi Gras, freedom, homecoming, etc.  You see them riding horses, wearing clown costumes, playing band instruments. Some would not be anywhere else in all the world.  Others would rather be anywhere than where they are.

                The paper told of a gathering crowd.  A distraught woman was threatening to take her own life.  The curious came out of the woodwork.  With hoots and jeers some of them urged her on.  Some there surely cared, but they were intimidated by those who did not.  The police arrived, but even they had difficulty from the vented anger of the crowd becoming a mob that wanted to see some blood-letting.  In their attempt to break through to the poor woman she had become so disturbed by these savage tactics that she drove the knife several times into her own body.  Crowds, how easy to deplore what they become once we are free of their dastardly influence.  How would you have acted at the cross?

I.             On the Faces of That Crowd I See Contempt.  V35 “And the rulers also with them derided Him saying, He saved others; Let Him save Himself, if He be the Christ, the chosen of God.”  The Greek word for ‘passion’ is ‘pathos.’  We have a number of words that are derivatives: Sympathy—to feel for; Empathy—to feel with; Apathy—a lack of feeling; Antipathy—spite, feeling against.

                This last is what we find among Jesus’ enemies here at the cross.  What, exactly, were they feeling?  They were not bored with Jesus.  They weren’t looking for a more dynamic Messiah.  They hated, with passion, all that Jesus stood for.

                Matthew and Mark incriminate chief priests and scribes with “rulers” here mentioned.  Theirs is a contempt for the unproven.  His teaching was in conflict with theirs.  The scribe was patting himself on the back:  “The people need the law, I can give it to them.”  The rulers were concluding that the people were not smart enough to interpret their religion.  They could.

                Does it surprise us to learn that there are still those disposed to contempt for Jesus?  Some modernist religious leaders say that Jesus really didn’t have to die.  They discount Paul’s “Unto us which are saved, it is the power of God,” I Corinthians 1:18.  They ignore John’s terse “Whosoever denieth the son, the same hath not the Father,” I John 2:23.

                There are others who simply hate that for which Jesus stands.  I shared recently the testimony of a rock musician who played Jesus in Jesus Christ, Superstar.  Jeff Fenholt said the “Cast were atheists who were trying to mock Jesus.”  The recent uproar over The Last Temptation of Christ is also evidence. 

                I challenge you to send for the AFA Journal.  Read some of the dialogue being perpetrated on a naïve public.  I read Don Wildmon’s editorial (4-88) proudly accepting contempt and scorn of the ACLU and Playboy for having led the fight against smut.

II.            On Faces in That Crowd I Also See Consent.  V35 “And the people stood beholding.”  V36 “And the soldiers also mocked Him.” 

                Those looking on so candidly were agreeing to this carnage.  Those “beholding” are observing with interest, and their interest is not faith in Christ.  The word “mocked” spoken of the soldiers means ‘sport,’ ‘jest,’ ‘childlike.’  It seems as if there were ambulance chasers then also.  (“Let’s go see how long it takes the crucified to die.”)

                The passion expressed here is apathy.  The contemptuous deserve none of our pity.  These even less.  The soldiers go so far as to gamble over the garment of Jesus as a trivia item to talk about later. 

                I have seen the cards come out at one-sided ballgames.  The 1989 Nevada crusade team had to be challenged not to play slots; we may look back to Las Vegas in June.

                Yes, we can turn up a reason for consent.  Valid questions were being raised by people all over Judea.  Some of those questions were raised by people after hearing Jesus.  Others just didn’t like those kinds of questions.  So, this way they can get Jesus out of the way, and can even say, “Tsk! Tsk! What a shame.”

                Our church roles have many “consenters” on them.  If you didn’t listen carefully, you may have thought I said “sinners.”

III.           Yet Other Faces Stand Out in That Crowd, and On Them I See Confusion. V 40 “Dost not thou fear God seeing thou art in the same condemnation?”  There may have been, and credit must be given to, those “beholding” who were concerned about what all this meant.  Some had heard prophecies of Messiah.  A few might have understood that He was to suffer, die. 

                They had heard Jesus’ reference to himself as “Son of Man.”  Outside of Revelation, the title occurs more than 80 times, all but one in the gospels, and all but one of these used by Jesus Himself.  The exception (John 12:34) is interesting; it is the crowd in confusion asking, “We have heard from the law that Christ remains forever.  How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is the Son of Man?”  The passage, Acts 7:56, is the other exception: Stephen, nearing the end of his life, cried out “Look, I see . . . the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

IV.          But There Were Believers in the Crowd for on Some Faces I See Compassion Concern, Concession.  V26 “Upon . . . Simon, a Cyrenian, . . . they laid the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus.”  V27 “And there followed Him a great company of people, . . . which also bewailed and lamented Him.”

                They’re the ones who perceived in Jesus the answer to long-standing questions.  “Where is God?”  “Why was I born?”  “What happens when I die?”

                Believers were there who saw the world potentially as a better place, not yet ready for His departure, not believing that the tide had turned.  Peter (Matthew 16:22) “began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: This shall not be unto thee.”

                Perhaps there were those who had measured the required commitment needed by those who remain.  Down the ages the crucifixion must be repeated over and over again.   What face do you reveal to the Christ who dies there? The face of contempt? That of Consent? One of Confusion? Or the face He wishes to see, of compassion, concern, concession?

Conclusion

                We are part of the crowd.  We can’t change that.  But we do control the kind of face He sees.  In the angry crowd every trusting face He sees causes the nails to be less painful, the crown of thorns less burdensome, the hour of death less agonizing.  Look up!  Look up to Jesus!

BEHOLDERS OF CHRIST

#093                                                               BEHOLDERS OF CHRIST                                                                                      

Scripture  Mark 16:12-13 NIV                                                                                                                          Orig. 3-29-64

                                                                                                                                                                       Rewr. 1-78, 10-2-87 

Passage:  ¹² Afterward Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the country. ¹³ These returned and reported it to the rest; but they did not believe them either.

Purpose:   To provide occasion for my people to examine their own lives as beholders of Christ

Keywords:          Christ the Lord                   Hope                     Renewal              Resurrection

Introduction

                All that is established by this brief text is that then as now, there are variances in the ways that we respond to Jesus.  Then as now, we observe some who were believers, some who weren’t.

                Luke gives a larger treatment to this event.  In his concluding chapter, he tells the story of the two Emmaus-bound disciples.  Recall, please, that the hour was late, they were on their way to their home from Jerusalem.  They were joined by a man not known to them.  They were so impressed by what he said, when arriving in Emmaus, they invited him to spend the night.  He then took bread, blessed and broke it, and in his praying they suddenly realized who it was.  Instantly, he was, as it were, spirited away.  It was a deeply moving moment for them.  They would discuss it together, then immediately return to Jerusalem to tell the disciples what had happened.  That’s the way it is in the discovery of Jesus alive.

                Perhaps that’s the problem when our spirit sags.  We’ve left Jesus on the cross, or in a tomb.  And if that’s where we’ve left him, we’re looking in vain for his help.  What kind of “beholder” of Christ are you this morning?

                My wife and I wished two weeks ago that we had you all sitting around our table.  The Mesias had gone to our home after the evening service.  She began to tell of her conversion.  Her English failed, and her husband began to translate for the two of us.  Oh, how we felt the presence of the Lord as she testified of Jesus coming alive in her life.  She “beheld” Him, and that made all the difference. 

I.             There Are Beholders Who Cannot See Past His Humanity.  V 12 “He appeared in another form unto two of them.”  I’ve never known anyone incapable of recognizing Jesus’ admirable character.  The world still finds “no fault” with him. In Luke 23:4 Pilate says “I find no fault.”  Most of the fault found early was with those around Jesus.  Mark 7:2 “And when they saw . . . disciples eat bread with . . . unwashed hands, they found fault.” 

                It is still that way.  Those who would rebuke Him, are really rebuking us.  Gandhi for example—those who knew him said that his appreciation for Jesus was so great, if it only weren’t for His followers.

                We note here that some were incapable of grasping this reality of Jesus.  Luke 24:16 (disciples) “. . . their eyes were holden that they should not know him.”  But wait, it was not some blinding spiritual power keeping them in the dark.  The Greek is “khateo”—used by those who were bound by what they learned in error.  They had only known the flesh and blood Jesus.  They did not recognize Him as He now appeared as crucified, risen Lord.  How do WE “behold” Him?  Paul plants the seed in I Corinthians 15.

                We must also attempt to understand their mental state.  They had talked freely of the day’s events, that Jesus was dead, perhaps even because of sin—theirs or others.  Maybe they were even asking what it all meant.  Luke 24:21 “. . . we trusted that it had been He which should have redeemed Israel.”  They were writing the New Testament, but they had it not for counsel. 

                II Corinthians 5:21 “He hath made Him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.”  They SAW Him, but they did not “behold” Him.

                Don’t let your humanity, or His humanity, limit your vision of Him.  If for all His worth, He was defeated by those who killed Him, then why should I try to change them?  If Jesus’ life, and death, has no relation to my sin, then I can do as I please, as others are doing.  But these two postulates fail miserably before a Jesus “beheld” as Saviour and Lord. 

                In the “holden” state, remember their hopelessness and remorse.  Ephesians 2:12 “At that time you were without Christ, . . . having no hope.”  To “behold” Him is to face Him in personal accountability for our sin, but discovering that He died for us.  Hebrews 2:3 “. . . How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?”

                Now don’t forget that a strong case can be made that these two were, in fact, Jesus’ own aunt and uncle, Mary’s sister and her husband, Cleopas.  (See Luke 24:18 and John 19:25.)  They did not recognize their own nephew.  As long as sin is allowed to restrict our view, we will see only what we want to see.  And we want to see ourselves as alright in God’s eyes.  He sees us as absolved of sin, only in Jesus.

II.            We Must, Then, Become People of Faith, Beholding Jesus as Lord.  V12f “. . . He appeared . . . unto them.  And they went and told it unto the [others]: neither believed they them.”  The two experienced the happy miracle of recognition.  Note that it did not happen as they listened to the wise assertions of a stranger.  It happened when they in grief and consternation invited the Son of God to share in their meager lives.  Perhaps that’s it.  We are embarrassed to invite Jesus to share our bounty.  Their eyes were opened, while their eyes were closed.  They discover Him willing to respond to whatever they offer.

                It is important to see what this recognition accomplishes.  V13 “. . . they went and told it to the other(s).”  It worked a work of transformation for them.  Grief, doubt, dread, anguish are quickly vanquished.  Sharing what they have experienced becomes the first order of business.  It has nothing to do with some kind of super faith.  Not even a fulfilled belief.  It is a joy that becomes something less, unless shared. 

                But most of all, obedience is suddenly involved.  They had seen a stranger Jesus.  As they spoke with this stranger, they spoke of a man Jesus.  Returning as they did to the disciples, they spoke of Him as Lord.  Luke 24:33f “The same hour they returned to Jerusalem and found the eleven. . . .  The Lord is risen indeed . . . .  V35 and they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread.”

III.           We Must Not Be Slow to Behold Him.  V12 “. . . He appeared in another form unto . . . them.”  He comes in our quiet times, or in the noise of our desperation.  He stays, unless we drive Him away by our faithlessness, even then staying within range of our repentance, within reach of our cry of faith.  To respond in faith is to discover who He really is.  He comes not because of who, or what, we are. He comes, not even because of what we are capable of becoming.  He comes, because of what He is, because of His all-sufficiency. 

                He comes, and we must behold who He is.

Conclusion

                The poet, John Masefield, wrote winsomely of matters that should be close to the heart of every believer in Christ, every beholder of Him.  In one such poem, he tells of the conversion of a mean and wicked man by the name of Saul Kane.  The name itself speak volumes.  There was a saintly Miss Bourne, whose goal in life was in helping the families of men like Saul Kane.  Saul sees her and drives her away. But she responds as leaving:

“Saul Kane,” she said, “When next you drink,

        Do me the gentleness to think

That every drop of drink accurst

        Makes Christ within you die of thirst,

That every dirty word you say

        Is one more flint upon His way,

Another thorn about His head,

        Another mock by where He tread,

Another nail, another cross.

        All that you are is that Christ’s loss.”

                As she leaves, the words begin to have an effect upon him.  Masefield next pictures him standing at the window, looking at the rainstorm he has driven Miss Bourne out into.  He speaks:

“The wet was pelting on the pane

        And something broke inside my brain.”

                He also leaves the warmth of the room and goes into the rain.  And he continues to speak:

“I did not think, I did not strive.

        The deep peace burned my me alive.

The bolted door had broken in.

        I knew that I had done with sin.

I knew that Christ had given me birth

        To brother all the souls on earth.

O glory of the lighted mind.

        How dead I’d been, how dumb, how blind.

The station brook to my new eyes

        Was babbling out of paradise.

The waters rushing from the rain

        Were singing, Christ has risen again.”

WATCHING JESUS CLOSELY

#476LS                                                       WATCHING JESUS CLOSELY                                                                                  

Scripture  Luke 14:1-14, NIV                                                                                                                            Orig. 3/13/68

                                                                                                                                                                                  Rewr. 1/30/85 

Passage:  One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. ² There in front of him was a man suffering from abnormal swelling of his body. ³ Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” ⁴ But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him on his way.  ⁵ Then he asked them, “If one of you has a child^[a] or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull it out?” ⁶ And they had nothing to say.  ⁷ When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: ⁸ “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. ⁹ If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. ¹⁰ But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests. ¹¹ For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”  ¹² Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. ¹³ But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, ¹⁴ and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

Purpose: Using the occasion of the Lord’s Supper for a brief message relative to the interrelationships of Jesus at a supper.

Timeline/Series:  LORD’S SUPPER             

Introduction

                Take note please that on a Sabbath, the Holy Day to a Jew, Jesus went into the home of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to share in a festive meal.  It is said that the Jews normally ate two meals a day; but on the Sabbath a festive meal was added to the middle of the day.  It is a joyful occasion.

                Some people have a forlorn and complex view of Jesus as a man who never was other than serious.  John Wesley founded a school near Bristol, England, where no games were allowed because “He who plays when he is a child will play when he is a man.”

                William Barclay (G30p201) gives us some examples of this short-sighted view of the happy Christ.  He quotes Swinburne, “Thou has conquered, O pale Galilean. The world has grown gray at the breath.”  Julian spoke of “pale-faced, flat-breasted Christians for whom the sun shone and they never saw it.”  And it was A.B. Bruce who said one “could not conceive of the child Jesus playing games when he was a boy, or smiling when he was a man.”

                There were those present who were “watching Jesus closely.”  Let’s join them and see what we can learn of our Lord’s disposition.

                Observe Jesus’ Presence at the Supper.  Jesus never refused any man’s hospitality.  V1 “He went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath.”  Jesus went in response to a supposed kindness.  It was a large gathering including lawyers and Pharisees.  It included also an infirm man, either a plant or someone who happened in off the street.  Jesus was not ill-at-ease in the surroundings.  V1: “They watched Him closely.”  Paratereo means “to watch with sinister intent.”

                Note, please, that at such a supper given in His honor, Jesus is present.

                Observe Jesus’ Activity at the Supper.  He was there as a Pharisee’s guest.  The lack of sincerity on the part of some would not change Him.  He was there as a guest.  However, one was present for whom something must be done.  V4: “And He took him and healed him and let him go.” 

                Attention is called to the Pharisees’ lack of value judgment.  It was the Sabbath.  That was their excuse to do nothing.  Jesus not only does what is right, he rebukes their do-nothing attitude. 

                At this supper given in honor of our Lord is the appropriate time to check our own values.

                Observe Jesus’ Teaching about a Supper.  V7: “So He told a parable” about being invited . . . to a wedding feast.”  There is always relevancy in Jesus’ teaching.  They were at a supper as guests.  Some were not acting accordingly. 

                V7 “He noted how they chose the best places.”  Thus, His teaching to them was a lesson in humility.  V10 “When you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place.”

                Note that it is a rare thing for us to think of ourselves as humble.  What place would you want at the table where Jesus sat?

                Observe Jesus’ Advice to His Host.  He encourages him to examine his motives.  Why do we do the things we do?  Duty? Self-interest? To befriend?  He had invited Jesus and perhaps the infirm man.  Fearing what his friends would say, he invited them.

                Do the right thing and let God provide the blessing.  What better advice or higher goal could we accord than this?  I will do the right thing, and I will wait for God to bless as he will.

***THE REMAINDER OF THIS SERMON HAS BEEN LOST***

THE KEYS TO THE KINGDOM

#077                                                          THE KEYS TO THE KINGDOM                                                                                 

Scripture  Matthew 16:13-19 NIV                                                                                                                   Orig. 8-30-64

                                                                                                                                                                                     Rewr. 3-1-88 

Passage:  ¹³ When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴ They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵ “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” ¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷ Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. ¹⁸ And I tell you that you are Peter,^[a] and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades^[b] will not overcome it. ¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be^[c] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be^[d] loosed in heaven.”

Purpose:  To call my people to a renewed awareness of commitment.  An attention to some topics of concern is required.

Keywords:          Christ, Lord         Duty      Commitment

Introduction

                We regularly talk about commitment.  We give only rudimentary attention to the place it should have in our lives.

                My dictionary translates it variously: “consigning for safe-keeping,” “an act of engagement or pledging,” “liability incurred,” “the act of doing,” “perpetration.”  Its Biblical use is almost always as a verb.  Paul admonishes Timothy to “keep that which is committed to Thy trust” (I Timothy 6:20).  And, of himself, in the following treatise he writes his young friend “I . . . am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him” (II Timothy 1:12).

                It is from a Greek verb, paratithēmi, meaning “guarding what is held in trust.” It is from this word that our word “tithe” comes, suggesting “to put,” or “to deposit.”  But this is not a “tithing” message, so let’s get back to other forms of commitment.

                You may have heard the story about the cow and the chicken that were serving as co-hostesses for a barnyard bash.  They decided to prepare the largest breakfast in history.  There would be eggs, and milk, grits, biscuits, ham and bacon, the works.  Everybody should be excited about doing their part.  Everybody, that is, but the hog.  He interrupted the proceedings, reminding the committee, “What you are offering to give is a token offering, but what you require of me is total commitment.”  Someone else ventures, “When a dog chases a rabbit, for the dog it’s fun and games, but for the rabbit, it’s a life and death situation.”

                We must remember that commitment requires a subject as well as an object.  We are not going to come to terms with this kind of dedication until we possess full knowledge about the ONE to whom we are committing ourselves.

I.             The First Key to the Kingdom Is the Key of Devotion.  V13 “Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”  First off, let me remind you that a key is not idle curiosity.  My seminary days were spent working for the US Post Office.  Working nights, I was often called upon to fill in for absent, regular employees.  One of those functions involved Registered Mail.  I would find out, after the fact, that I had handled tens of thousands of dollars, for which I, alone, was responsible, once I signed as having received it.

                The more we know Christ, the more our devotion to him must grow.  There have been people we liked until we got to know them.  But the special people in our lives are people we grow more and more appreciative of as we know them better.

                Christ, Himself, attests to this need in our lives.  Matthew 10:37 “He that loveth father or mother (son or daughter) more than me is not worthy of me.”  How many things do you love?  Which of them do you love more than you love Christ?  Simon Peter had a face-to-face confrontation with devotion during the trial of Jesus.  Later, Jesus said, “Simon, lovest thou me?”

                Paul’s epistles form the basis of our theology.  It is based on love for Christ.  I Corinthians 2:2 “I am determined not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.”  He seeks to lead people to Jesus not to draw them unto himself.  Ephesians 3:19 “And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge,” to therein be open to the people around us.

                It is to minimize self.  It is to accept others and sometimes their odd ways.  A little boy’s grandmother had come for a visit.  It was August, and she was sharing his bedroom.  She wanted the window down, he up.  About the fourth night he prayed, “Lord, bless mother and daddy, and make it hot for grandmother.”

II.            The Second Key Is That of Demonstration.  V16 Peter’s confession: “You are the Christ, the son of the living God.” V18 Jesus’ response: “on this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” 

                Our only connotation for demonstration is often only negative.  We read of sit-ins, and lay-ins, and marches that seem not pointless, but counterproductive.  We dispel any responsibility to react in this unacceptable manner.  But brethren, to be Christians, is to be on cross-course with our culture.

                Uppermost in our daily lives, should be our determination to demonstrate love for Christ.  As a clear example to lost people, understanding that the drift of society is away from God, not to Him.  The convention average of church members to baptisms is 1 to 30.  Last couple of years, we have been 1 to 17.  But frontier mission churches, and overseas work, often reveal a much higher proportion (1 to 10), because the people come to grips with this need.

                We cannot assume the emphases are going to reach these unreached people. We must promote these programs.  In a revival with a nationally prominent evangelist, a worker said, “I enjoyed the singer more.”  Was he more entertaining?  I Corinthians 1:18: “The preaching of the cross is to them that perish, foolishness, but to us who are saved it is the power of God.”

                That demonstration of love must be kept current.  It is the local church that is the gathering (focal point) of believers.  We must keep abreast of contemporary influences.  It is said that the Great Awakening of the 1730’s was born on preaching such as that of Jonathan Edwards Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.  People clutched the back of the pew to keep from falling into hell. 

                Sin has not changed. Its form may have.  Hell has not changed.  We hear less.  The church has not changed.  We still must point the way.  Jesus has not changed.  He died to save.  God has not changed.  We may not perceive of Him as angry, but He is just, and that should cause fear.

III.           The Final Key to the Kingdom Is an Assessment of Duty.  V19 “I will give unto you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

                So the keys are three: That of devotion, knowing Christ; that of demonstration, revealing His presence; and that of duty, being knowledgeable about the way we live and serve Him.  This third key is so important.  We have a duty to perform.  An article in the Baptist Message (March 1, 1988) tells of a volunteer couple from Texas who spent nine years in Minnesota.  (context lost)  You see, God does have a plan for each of us.  What He has for us may go undone if we withhold our commitment.

Conclusion

                Phillip P. Bliss was a music evangelist in meetings often with D.L. Moody.  Mr. Moody had told of a ship captain trying to bring his ship through a storm.  The lighthouse guided him safely into the harbor, but the channel lights were not burning, and inevitably they were swept into the rocks and many drowned.  The singer, moved by the illustration, wrote a song still in use over 100 years.

“Brightly beams our Father’s mercy From his Lighthouse evermore.

But to us He gives the keeping of the lights along the shore.

Dark the night of sin has settled, Loud the angry billows roar;

Eager eyes are watching, longing For the lights along the shore.

Trim your feeble lamp, my brother: Some poor sailor tempest tossed,

Trying now to make the harbor, In the darkness may be lost.

Let the lower lights be burning! Send a gleam across the wave!

Some poor fainting, struggling seaman You may rescue, you may save.”

THE MESSAGE OF CHRISTMAS

#065                                                        THE MESSAGE OF CHRISTMAS                                                                               

Scripture Luke 2:1-20 NIV                                                                                                                               Orig. 12/24/61

                                                                                                                                                                               Rewr. 12/18/75,                                                                                                                                                                                         12/9/76 

Passage: In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ² (This was the first census that took place while^[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³ And everyone went to their own town to register.  ⁴ 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. ⁵ He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶ While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷ and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. ⁸ 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.

Keywords:          Christ Birth                          Christmas

Timeline/Series:               Christmas

Introduction

                One of the most beautiful of all of the stories that have to do with Christmas, is a story that many people have never heard.  It is the story of The Shepherd Who Stayed.  I don’t remember who wrote the story, or even where it can be found.

                There was simply another shepherd who fell to his knees that night on the Judean hillside.  A man who was moved with the glory of the moment.  A man who, like other men, was overwhelmed at what he saw and heard.  This shepherd, however, rejected the angels’ invitation to see.  “You will find the babe,” the angel had said.

                Our shepherd friend was keeper there in the Judean hills to only a hundred sheep, but they were his responsibility, and he intended to stay at his post.  I hear more than words when he gives his reason for not going to “the City of David.”  God is at work in Bethlehem, he reasoned, and one shepherd less would not make a difference.  But a shepherd in the hills could make a great deal of difference before this magnificent night is over.

I.             The Message of Christmas is One of Fearsome Revelation.  2:15 Let us . . . see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.  It is beyond everything else, God’s message to his people.  You remember that it was the Word of God that brought this universe into existence. “And God said, ‘Let there be light’ and there was light.”

                You also remember that it was the same Word of God that adjudged the world. “And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good.”

                It was God’s Word which introduced man to taint an otherwise perfect place.  But this perfection meant nothing without someone being capable of comprehending it.    It would have to be a being capable of destroying it.  Now it is God’s Word seeking to redeem the earth’s most irredeemable subject.  V11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

                The Revelation becomes more fearsome when we discover that it is from the Sovereign.  There is the evidence of authority. “The angel of the Lord came upon them.” “A multitude of the heavenly host praising God.” “The babe lying in the manger.”

                There is the signature of design: 

“There is no art without an artist, no building without a builder,

no history without a patriot and his dream.

“Nor can there be a planet without a planner, a plant without a planter,

nor even yet a man without a Maker of this scene.”

                The revelation becomes burdensome if we acknowledge man’s accountability without God’s trustworthiness.  Every individual capable of self-comprehension is responsible for his choices and his actions.  One of the critiques of our age is upon the misuse of alcohol, drugs—prescription and otherwise, tobacco, sex, and the health burdens that are left in the wake of their use.

                You may have heard about the emaciated man who went to his doctor about his general health.  The only thing the doctor turned up was that he smoked too much.  “You must follow my advice.  Your trouble is your smoking.  Cut out all cigarettes except after meals.”  Two months later he was back for a checkup.  He looked better. He had gained weight. “I don’t know how long I can eat 15 meals a day.”

                This self-responsibility passes over into even those areas of stress that we do not control.  There were reasons why the shepherds could be reassured by the angel:  The teachings of their fathers; the physical accommodations of the evening; conversations that such a night invoked; a star like no other star.  While they were stricken with fear, their stress was abated by what these men were before the angel appeared.

II.            The Message of Christmas is One of Joyful Exultation.  There was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. 

                Joyful exultation is the result of faith.  They believed in a God of love whose purpose was to be known by his creation.  It was in the disciples’ fear of the unknown that Jesus said in Matthew 10:26 “Fear not, therefore, there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed, nothing hid that shall not be made known.”

                It was acknowledging God’s sovereignty over the unknown which caused Paul to write in Ephesians 1:9 “Having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself.”

                Joyful exultation in faith culminates in understanding.  The story is told of Heinrich von Dannecker, great German sculptor of the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries.  In his early years he won a name for himself in sculpting Ariadne and other Greek goddesses.  As he felt he was in his prime, he committed himself to what would be his major work.  It would be a colossal piece featuring the Christ.  He twice failed, but held to his purpose.  Finally, the work of a lifetime was complete.  It was all that he wanted it to be.  He later was approached by Napoleon to do a statue of Venus for the Louvre.  His answer was simple, “Sire, the hands that have carved the Christ can never again carve a heathen goddess.”

                Similarly, Lew Wallace, Civil War general, later governor of New Mexico, began work on a novel. It was to contain an atheist’s view of Christ.  The novel was Ben Hur.  The author became a Christian in his efforts to write such a novel.

                And understanding, when it is finished, brings fulfillment to the Christian life. V20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.   

                The shepherds believed a believable word and acting on such faith were rewarded for it.  They came to comprehend the involvement of God in the sameness of their lives.  They knew that God had appropriated to Himself, a message that would change their lives.  While they went back to the same sheep on the same hillside, their lives would never know sameness again.

                There is likewise given to us a believable word, but the reward of faith awaits the believer’s response.  How many of us have the gift of eternal life because we have believed?  Romans 6:23 The gift of God is eternal life.  John 1:12 As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God. Matthew 7:11 If you, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

                Though near to faith, how many are there who are yet victims of self-condemnation because they have refused the believable WORD? John 12:48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him; the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.”  

                We have been given life that we might find the Saviour.  The angelic light penetrates the blackness of our somber nights announcing, “Christ is born . . . go ye . . . and ye shall find . . . Glory to God.  When they had seen it . . . they returned, glorifying and praising God.”

Closing

                I was reminded a few days ago of the testimony of a young Japanese student who was at Southwestern when I was there.  The war years had been tragic.  His brother-in-law dead in a kamikaze (divine wind) raid.  His sister takes her own life.  His parents had been in diplomatic service in Europe, but would not survive the war.  His conversion came as a student in Germany after the war, when he was given a portion of a German New Testament.  He tells of the time, at the start of the war, when they were given one hour to pack one suitcase, to then be extradited to their homeland.  He remembered watching his mother trying to make the decision about what to put in that suitcase.  She would put in objects of gold and silver, then ancestor-honoring porcelain, of great worth.  Finally she loaded the suitcase with woolens and foodstuffs.

*THE REMAINDER OF THIS SERMON HAS BEEN LOST*

REFLECTION, attached to this sermon in Rev. Skinner’s file

Henry W. Longfellow

I heard the bells on Christmas day

Their old familiar carols play,

And wild and sweet the words repeat

Of peace on earth, good will to men.

I thought how, as the day had come,

The belfries of all Christendom

Had rolled along th’unbroken song

Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bowed my head:

“There is no peace on earth,” I said,

“For hate is strong and mocks the song

Of peace on earth, good will to men.”

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:

“God is not dead, nor doth he sleep;

The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,

With peace on earth, good will to men.”

Till, ringing, singing, on its way,

The world revolved from night to day,

A voice, a chime, a chant sublime,

Of peace on earth, good will to men!

THE THREE-FOLD GRACE OF GOD

#042                                                     THE THREE-FOLD GRACE OF GOD                                                                            

Scripture Matthew 5:5-13; 26:39 NIV                                                                                Orig. 7-5-64 (10-75) (4-85)

                                                                                                                                                                                  Rewr. 4/22/84 

Passage:  V5-13 5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

9 “This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,[a]
    but deliver us from the evil one.[b]’

V26:3939 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

Purpose:              Using Jesus’ teaching and example in prayer to remind us of the parameters of God’s grace in our lives today

Keywords:          Commitment                     Grace of God                     Prayer                   Christ Mediator                 Communication

Introduction

Mahatma Gandhi, the Indian leader of peaceful resolution, gained many of his most significant insights from Christ.  He is quoted as having said that he would have given more serious consideration to having become an avowed follower of Christ had it not been for some of the Christians that he had known.  It is still so, that the greatest hindrance to the Kingdom of God is usually found in the discordant events in the lives of those who are presumably members of the kingdom.

Dr. R.G. Lee entitled one of his favorite sermons, “The Menace of Mediocrity.”  In it he writes “Mediocrity is somebody with diamond and ruby talents, worth as little to God’s cause through the church as a punctured Japanese nickel is worth at a Chinese bazaar.”  In that message, he mentions another sermon entitled “Bantam Baptists.”  Dr. Lee said he could have preached the same message to any gathering.  He would only have had to change the name: “Midget Methodists, Peewee Presbyterians, Lilliputian Lutherans, Puny Pentecostals, Miniature Mennonites, or Diminutive Disciples.”

Too many of us as Christians seem content to go through life with some such spiritual mediocrity as that mentioned in the child’s verse that many of us read to our children.

                “Solomon Grundy

Born on Monday,

Christened on Tuesday,

Married on Wednesday,

Taken ill on Thursday,

Worse on Friday,

Died on Saturday,

Buried on Sunday.

And that was the end of Solomon Grundy.”

I.             Grace is First Considered in Communication with the Father.  V6 “But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place.”

It acknowledges the practiced humility.  It means to practice prayer.  It means that we are to do so even though we are not advantaged in the world’s eyes.

Charles Schultz has cartoon books for teens. Girl to Sunday School classmates: “I had to give up my secret closet of prayer.  Every time I went in there, all those cashmere sweaters made me feel guilty.”  Think how many of the world’s problems could be resolved if more of us were willing to be disadvantaged.  Ireland could become a land of religious harmony.  Central America could offer struggling third world nations a chance to be free and economically secure.  South Africa could resolve racial hostility.

It acknowledges practical meditation.  Clearly, we are to search for answers.  We are to do so with resolve in what the Father already knows. V8 “Your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask.” 

Jesus not only taught us so to pray, he exercised this option to the fullest.  Recourse to this grace is extended to each of us.  Job 13:15 “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.”  II Chronicles 32:8 “With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God to help us.”  We seem to want Him removed out of our politics and government, out of our schools and homes. All that will be left is churches.  All that will be left is some social stigma, or worse, against believers.

Mediocrity is but a step away when we fail to be in touch with God’s grace through prayer.  It is to claim other resources than God.  It is to claim dependence on our own wit and charm. Luke 18:11 In Jesus’ parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector: “The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, [I thank Thee that I am me.]”

II.            Grace Extends to Companionship in the Father.  V8 “Be ye not therefore like unto them; for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him.”  It pertains to a day-by-day awareness of God, and His help.  Norman Vincent Peale: “Millions of men and women are creeping through life on their hands and knees merely because they refuse to rely on any power but self.”  Too many of us are too distracted by the myriads of things in our lives.  V7 Admonishes us “not to use vain repetition as the heathen do.”  It is to put the Lord first, and to know where we stand with Him. 

Remember the old radio ad of the dog sitting before an old timey speaker.  The caption says it all: “His master’s voice.”  It is to be obedient to Him.  “Too many Christians spend six days sowing wild oats, and the seventh praying for a crop failure.” 

Such companionship offers not only daily help, but also delivering help.  V13 “Deliver us from the evil one.”  People who are insensitive to Satan’s zeal, tend to discount his power.  It is amazing how many people respond to exercise, diet programs.  They eat the right foods.  They work out strenuously.  But these same people give no consideration to spiritual needs.  James 1:4 “Every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lusts and enticed.”

The promise of God’s help is in accord with the practice of faith.  I Corinthians 10:13 “God is faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able.”

Daily help, delivering help, becomes determined help.  V10 “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”  We don’t come into the kingdom grown.  We grow in the pursuit of God’s will as we nourish our interest in it.  Our Daily Bread told of a tribal chief where missionaries were working.  “If you become better men and women by being Christians, you may remain so; if not, I forbid you to be Christians at all.”

III.           Beyond Communication and Companionship, there is Commitment.  Matthew 26:39: “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.”

No person ever wanted to live, or had reason to live, like Jesus did.  “Let this cup pass.”  He thought of needs: hunger, disease, injustice. He thought of meaningless religion: unbelief, cynicism, error. He thought of misguided zealots: Jewish and pagan.  He thought of the disciples and their wavering faith: Judas’ rejection, Peter’s denial.

Jesus wanted to live.  “Let this cup pass from me.”  But greater than His desire to live was His determination to do God’s will.  Thus, grace is given: Grace opening to us the door to communing with the Father; Grace enabling us to experience companionship in the Father; Grace motivating us for commitment in the Father.

Conclusion

                The French painter, Emile Ranouf, has depicted on canvas what he calls, “The Helping Hand.”  It is of an elderly man in fishing gear, rowing a boat with a small girl at his side.  Obviously, there is great love between them.  Her small hands are also on oars.  He looks at her fondly.  The child has desire, but the strength is the grandfather’s.  Thus is a renewable parable of our relation to God.

WHEN GOD BECAME MAN

#012                                                           WHEN GOD BECAME MAN

Scripture Matthew 2:1-6                                                                                                                                 Orig. 12-19-71

                                                                                                                                                                                Rewr. 12-14-76 

Passage:  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.” When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 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. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: “ ‘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.’”

Introduction

                To contemplate the birth of Jesus, one must also consider that earlier birth of a planet, and birth of the generic man upon that planet.  Back in the day when pollution was unknown, and ecology was unnecessary, man lived in what was a veritable Garden of Eden.

                Of the little that we do know about that place, there is this fact about man’s beginnings.  Around him were many trees.  Of two of these we know the names—the tree of life, and the tree of knowledge.  Imagination tells us what might have been names of other trees—virtue, strength, love, faith, obedience, trust, fidelity, honor.  It was the tree of knowledge that man was disallowed any access.

                You must be aware that there is a suitable recourse to knowledge when life is adequately lived.  By having life, man can achieve knowledge.  To have knowledge, however, is never any guarantee for life.

                Thus, when man chose knowledge and rejected life, a rerouting of man’s priority became necessary.  That rerouting ordered by God is declared in the story of the birth of Jesus.  “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sin.”

                And in His birth it is again declared—“I am come that you might have life, and that you might have it more abundantly.”

                The birth of Jesus, then, was not an historical declarative, but a contemporary imperative. And it was more.  It was when God became man.

I.             When God Became Man, There was Submission to the Limitations of the Flesh. He experienced extreme physical privation.  A prince born in a cattle stall—the wise men honored a king; the priests looked for a king; The Word foretold a king.  But even earthly kings are not so treated.  I remember the birth of England’s Prince.  The throngs waited amid regal glories for the natal hour.  I remember when the College of Cardinals elected a Pope.  I remember election night 1968.  I remember last evening, when the winning democrat pictured himself elected.

                Was such privation necessary for the “Tiny King?”  You remember, I am sure, that Satan promised Jesus the kingdoms of this world if Jesus would worship him.  But you must remember that this is a betrayal of trust.  The kingdoms of which he spoke were those of the King of Kings, and not Lord of Lords.  This KING, and no tiny king is HE, came to help man find His way back to God.  The king must be One with the subject who will honor Him.  Hebrews 4:15: “We have a high priest who feels our infirmities.”  His life and His ministry were to make it easier for man to believe—to reroute his priorities.

                This privation experience is necessary for us as well. We must die to the flesh, live unto God. Matthew 18:3 “Except you become as little children, you shall in no wise enter the kingdom of heaven.”

II.            When God Became Man, There was Surrender of All of the Divine Attributes.  The power of God did not cease to be operative in the universe.  But in Jesus, God Himself, became the deliverer, the sin bearer, the rerouter of man’s priorities.

                Let’s be sure about our concept of a deliverer.  Television and movies have given us what is a poor substitute for the real thing.  There is always the same plot.  The father can’t or won’t pay the rent, the damsel won’t agree to the landlord’s proposal (it used to be one of marriage), so he ties her to the railroad track to await the hero sweeping in to deliver.  May I call your attention to the Biblical concept—He was wounded for our transgressions.  He was bruised for our iniquity.  The chastisement of our peace was upon Him.  With His stripes we are healed.  Even with His manliness, there was no compromise with purity and virtue. Hebrews 4:15 In all points He was tempted as we are, yet without sin.

III.           When God Became Man, There was Subordination to the Holy Spirit.  It was as Jesus accepted the fact of God’s Will that He was empowered to accomplish it.  The hard fact of Jesus’ life was that He was willing to pay whatever price necessary to honor His heavenly Father—not human parents;  not national heritage, not unborn multitudes; certainly not the human blood suckers who demand that we be like they are or a little worse.  It is in the context of our willingness to honor our heavenly Father that we may be empowered for our task.  May. May. May… The doubt is not in God’s ability, but in our will.  John 14:12 “He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also, and greater works than these because I go to the Father.”

Conclusion

                I read recently an account of a lady in the frontier days of the old west who came to the attitude of dependence upon the Holy Spirit.  She lived with her husband in a mining town when gold fever was very high. 

                Someone told of an old prospector who lived alone in a shack back of town in the hills.  He was dying.  But about such a mean and vile man, no one cared.  She went to him when no one would even go with her.  He cursed her for coming.  At the mention of mother, he cursed her.  At mention of wife, he cursed her.  After several visits she despaired to go again.  Her little boy said “You didn’t pray.  Have you given up? Has God given up?” She spent a night agonizing in prayer.  She started visiting with a neighbor and her daughter.  The little girl’s laugh became the key to the old man’s heart.

                Our trouble is that we get bleary eyed and beatific over the birth of Bethlehem’s babe.  Then after Christmas, we just revert to our old thinking about living among all of those agnostics and we are afraid to let them know that Christ is out of the manger and in our hearts.

WATCHING JESUS

#018                                                                    WATCHING JESUS                                                                                           

Scripture  Luke 6:1-19 NIV                                                                                                                     Orig. June 19, 1985

Passage:  One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and his disciples began to pick some heads of grain, rub them in their hands and eat the kernels. ² Some of the Pharisees asked, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?” ³ Jesus answered them, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? ⁴ He entered the house of God, and taking the consecrated bread, he ate what is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.” ⁵ Then Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” ⁶ On another Sabbath he went into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was shriveled. ⁷ The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath. ⁸ But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Get up and stand in front of everyone.” So he got up and stood there. ⁹ Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?” ¹⁰ He looked around at them all, and then said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and his hand was completely restored. ¹¹ But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were furious and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus. ¹² One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. ¹³ When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: ¹⁴ Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, ¹⁵ Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, ¹⁶ Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. ¹⁷ He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon, ¹⁸ who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by impure spirits were cured, ¹⁹ and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.

Introduction

                The principle part of the text that we shall cover reflects the extension of controversy that had begun to center itself around Jesus.  The Pharisees, and to some extent, the scribes, had begun to question and then resent Him.  From that resentment was born opposition and then hostility.

                In the 2^nd verse, we have the 4^th of these conflicts, and verses 6-11 contain the last.  But we need to go back to chapter five to consider the first three.

                4:15       Jesus enjoyed popularity.

                5:17       Thusly, he draws the attention of the religious leaders.

                5:21       “Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Jesus had healed a paralytic with a statement of forgiven sins.  They did not recognize Jesus’ deity.  Unacceptable tendencies begin to emerge.

                5:30       “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” Pharisees (separatists) could see religion in only one way.  (Calling Levi)

                5:33       “Why do the disciples of John fast often . . . Likewise those of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink?”  Fasting: The Law prescribed one annual fast (Leviticus 16:29-31); after the captivity it had become four.  Luke 18:12, the Pharisee: “I fast twice a week.”

                5:36       Spirituality: “No man putteth a piece of a new garment upon an old. . . .”  Someone wrote, “New and old don’t mix.  When you know truth, you can’t be satisfied with other.”

                6:1          Jesus observed the Sabbath.

                6:2          “Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath? (Plucking grains).  They did not understand His deity, or the Law, or yet the Sabbath.     

                6:6-11   They ask no question, but here is the consummate conflict. “Filled with rage, (they) discuss . . . what they might do to Jesus.”

                6:9          Jesus introduced a new law for an ineffective one.

                6:13f      Jesus called the twelve disciples/apostles.

                6:17-19 Jesus presented a new people of God.

                6:46        But no room is left for compromise.

                We note first the intent of these religious speculators.  5:17 “There were Pharisees, and teachers of the Law sitting by.  6:7 “And the Scribes and the Pharisees watched Him closely”—to watch suspiciously, underhandedly. 

I.             They Watched Him through Unforgiven Eyes. “Man, your sins are forgiven you.” (Mark 2:5f.)  They disputed Jesus’ right to say so.  They disputed that such could happen under these circumstances.  Sin, as they understood it, required traditionally prescribed values.

II.            They Watched Him through Separatist Eyes.  5:32 “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”  (Mark 2:16f.)  They believed THEY were God’s only concern.  Pharisee meant “separatist.”  Their interpretation of the law kept them from associating with such people.

III.           They Watched Him through Snobbish Eyes. 5:33 “Why do the disciples of John fast, likewise those of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink?” (Mark 2:18.)  They saw themselves as the true guardians of the faith.  They saw Jesus as something entirely different.

IV.          They Saw Jesus through Legalistic Eyes.  6:2 “Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?” (Mark 2:23.)  It is incidental that the question revolves around the Sabbath.  Jesus honored the Sabbath. He taught His disciples to correctly honor it.  They rebuke what He is allowing His disciples to do.  They are eating grain and it is the Sabbath; it was wheat or barley, and harvesting, threshing, winnowing, and preparing it were not lawful.  They equate combining and drawing one’s hand over the stalk.  The Pharisees had forgotten the claims of mercy because they were beset by rules and regulations.  Jesus quoted I Samuel 21:1-6, where David’s men ate the “shewbread” (Bread of the Presence).  If David was justified as a man of war defending himself, then what about Jesus, who was a man of love, peace, and mercy.

                William Barclay’s insight into “Have you not read what David did?”  An obvious “yes!” They did not bring an open mind to God’s Word.  They did not bring a needy heart.

V.            They Watched Jesus through Changeless Eyes. Jesus asks the question here. 6:9 “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?” (Mark 3:5)

                6:5 Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath. (Mark 2:28).  He defines the Sabbath as an agent for man’s well-being, not an institution to which man is responsible.  God ordained it as a day of rest and worship: rest for his body, worship for his spirit.  Matthew 12:12 puts it in the form of a positive statement. “It is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”  It is a story with characters: One who needs help—the man with the withered hand; the helper—Jesus; and those who define that help—the Pharisees.

VI.          Jesus Chooses His Disciples, 6:12-19.  V12 He spent a night in prayer. V13-16 He began calling the disciples.  He begins a concerted ministry.  V18 He is there [to teach]; the disciples are there to learn; the multitudes are there to hear and to be healed.

Conclusion (Luke 6:6-10)

• Faith called the infirm man to do what he could: “Stand forth.”
• Faith constrained him to do what he could not: “Stretch forth thy hand.”
• Faith compelled him to give credit as is due. “Go in praise to God” (Understood). Jose Cardena was asked about his leukemia.  “Would your life purpose be the same if you had not contracted leukemia?”  “Probably not,” he said.

THE PROPHECIES OF CHRISTMAS

#014                                                      THE PROPHECIES OF CHRISTMAS                                                                             

Scripture  Matthew 2:1-23                                                                                                                Orig. 8-25-63 (12-77)

                                                                                                                                                                               Rewr. 12-18=86 

Passage:

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi^[a] from the east came to Jerusalem ² 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.’^[b]”

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.”^[c]

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.”^[d]

¹⁹ After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt ²⁰ and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.”

²¹ So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. ²² But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, ²³ and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.

Purpose: To share a Christmas message drawing from the great prophecies about Christ and His birth.

Keywords:          Biographical, Joseph                       Messiah               Prophecy                             Christ, Birth

Timeline/Series:               Christmas

Introduction

                It  has been more than thirty  years since I first drove north out of Alexandria on the highway that fronts church property.  That first trip through the pine forests of central Louisiana was with the young woman who would become my wife, to meet her parents.  Because four pastorates and twenty years would be spent in the central and southern parts of our state, that highway would  be one “much traveled by.”

                We watched many changes.  Since much of it was in the National Forest, only as we approached the towns were there indications of people’s changing ways.  But even the forest changed.  An occasional tree hugging the right of way would be gone.  Places where the tree harvester plied his trade were in evidence.  We would see the void, where trees had been.  Next, the denuded landscape.  But by the next trip north, preseedlings would be in the ground beginning their inexorable growth.

                There were human changes as well.  At a central stopping place there was a break we regularly took.  It was a restaurant operated by a happy, God-fearing family man.  His daughters were grown and occasionally worked in the business.  His pride in them showed, not only in the pictures that adorned the walls.

                A much younger son was seen occasionally, and then over years, less and less.  He grew up during those years.  Graduated from Winnfield High School, went on to LSU, graduated there I believe, and became a pilot.  Then, on a later trip, Mr. Mercer told us that he was in Viet Nam.  An article in the Alexandria paper while we were still in Oakdale revealed that the young man was dead, shot down serving his country.

                The restaurant was still open on our next journey or two north, but things were not the same.  He, of happy countenance and friendly greeting, was not to be seen.  Then came the inevitable day, and a black, gloomy sign which read “Closed.”  It was understood that it also meant, “Not to be reopened.”  I do not recall whether other interests tried to make the Goat Castle thrive again.  I only know that it could not have been.  Now, the corner is marred by the memory of what was, and what is, and by what now occupies the corner on the south edge of Winnfield.

                It is a high price to pay to give one’s son, even if the cause is that in which one believes.  God gave His Son, knowing full well that for Him to be born would also be to die.  That’s an even higher price.

I.             There Is the Foretelling of His Birth to Wise Men.  It is not a prophecy in the Biblical sense.  There is scriptural intonation.  Numbers 24:16f “The utterance of him . . . who sees the vision of the Almighty, . . . I see Him but not now; I behold  Him, but not near. A star shall come out of Jacob; a scepter shall rise out of Israel.”

                Zechariah offers an apocalyptic image.

                Other verses allude to wisdom of men out of the east.  I Kings 4:30 “Solomon’s wisdom excelled . . . the men of the east.”

                We know something, of course, of those people and their distant land:

• In the east was Babylon, today’s Iraq, in the Tigris/Euphrates valley.
• Isaac’s wife, Rebekah, came from Abraham’s homeland, Mesopotamia.
• Egypt was the land of captivity, where some Jews remained.
  • The gospel song reminds us of this time:  “Wade in the water; wade in the water, children; wade in the water: God’s gonna trouble the water.”
• Ur, home of Abraham, is near modern-day Kuwait, which rests precipitously at the Northwest extremity of the Persian Gulf. 
• Jerusalem was the land of Daniel (Daniel 9:24-25), who prophesied 70 weeks (or years) until the coming of the Messiah.

The presence of these wise men demands two significant considerations: That the Messiah was known outside of Israel, disarming this as a political P.R. event, and that God intended faith in His Son to be the great, universal, foundation stone upon which hope and peace would be built.  Micah 4:2 “And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”  Zechariah 2:11 “And many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto thee.”  Zechariah 8:23 “Thus saith the Lord of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.”

II.            There Is Prophecy Relative to Messiah’s Birth, Appearing Here As Questions of Those Men.  V2 “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?”  With all of their learning, there are yet surprises: Surprise that Herod knows not of this, that a king would be born away from Jerusalem, that the star will show them the very place of His birth, and that they would be “divinely warned” in a dream.

                But be very sure that the prophetic word of God knows no surprises. Micah 5:2 “But thou, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall He come forth that is to be ruler in Israel.”  The wise men asked about a king, but when Herod called on his own scholars, he inquired of “Messiah,” and of Bethlehem.

                At Bethlehem, the picture begins to form of God’s love.   Could we with ink the ocean fill, and were the sky of parchment made; were every stalk on earth a quill, and every man a scribe by trade: To write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry, Nor could the scroll contain the whole, though stretched from sky to sky  (Frederick Lehman). 

                At Bethlehem also, we begin to discover the degree to which God will go for those He loves.  It took someone like Jesus to save us.  We dare not treat it lightly.

III.           The Forecast of Direction to Joseph for His Family.  V13 “. . . an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, ‘Arise, take . . . go . . . stay.”  It is not Father’s Day, but perhaps it is:  A time to assume  joys and responsibilities; a time to learn of Joseph’s example; a time to bring joy to the hearts of 20^th Century Marys; a time for deepening relationships, of the spiritual sort, and of family.  God spoke  to Joseph.  He can speak to us: Through a dream then, perhaps now.  He speaks indisputably through His Word.

                The climax is that of obedience.  V14 “. . . He arose, . . . took the young Child and his  mother by night and departed for Egypt.” Knowing in obedience is doing.  The message is that of God’s providence. 

This is the Joseph of momentous decisions.  When he learned of the baby there were three choices:  Accuse Mary before the elders; simply put her away (Deuteronomy 22:26—sometimes the woman is helpless); accept Mary, and her baby, shelter them both, love them, and see the wonders of God.

When God persists in a plan, He provides the resource.  Three wise men from the east traveled for perhaps five months to provide resources for Joseph and his family in Egypt.

                Wise men still seek Jesus.

IV.          There Is Foreboding of the Murder of Children.  V16 “Herod . . . sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under.”

                Is it conceivable for one man to harbour such malice, suspicion, and fear?  But clearly, to the warped mind human life is just another expendable commodity, political not spiritual.  Besides that, it was not just another human life sought by Herod, not just another number recorded on the parchment of over-populated land mass.  This was the king/messiah they were asking about:  What is done with the old king when a new one asserts himself?

                There are still Herods about.  These people didn’t find Jeremiah’s prophecy all that shocking.  Nor did the people to whom Jeremiah spoke.  “A voice was heard in Ramah, . . . Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted, because they were no more” (Jeremiah 31:15).

                Such are not born that way, they become that way.  “Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad with power.”

                Christian social enterprise without Christ’s redemptive love is hate.  I read of the Mayas of Mesoamerica, and their trials chiefly through Spain’s lust for gold.  There were places in their own native land where they could not walk on the sidewalks until 1965.

Conclusion

                In these areas, the prophecies of Christmas chiefly speak.  They testify that God is at work, and that He is at work in the human world.  The prophetic scriptures were fulfilled.  The Messiah was born of the Virgin Mary.  He was called the “Son of God,” because He was.  He was named “Immanuel” meaning God with us. 

                Harold Lindsell, contemporary scholar, wrote in Christianity Today (12/77), “By the light of nature we see God above us.  By the light of the law we see God against us.  By the light of the gospel we see Jesus as Immanuel who is God with us.”

                Skeptics and apostates may question and deny, but they deny only their own reason, and assert their own faithlessness.  They do no injustice to the truth of God.

                We believe the prophecies of Christmas because they are true.  They are true because God intervened in history and brought them to pass.  The Babe of Bethlehem became Calvary’s Captive: The Lord of glory, at whose feet we fall, and to whom we pay homage.  Blessed Christmas season when once again we remind, and are reminded, that God has tabernacled among us and we have beheld His glory.