Sermon - Jesus is King - Littleby Baptist Church - December 16, 2018
John 1:14
The earthly journey that started with an angel visiting His mother Mary and had Him being born in the humblest of places, were the first steps leading to our salvation. Without Jesus being born, our chance of spending eternity with Him would be non-existent.
“14 The Word became flesh and dwelt
among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the
Father, full of grace and truth.”
‘the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.’
Jesus Christ came down to earth as a little child so that He
could dwell among us.
Plato once said, “some day there will come forth from God a
logos, a Word, who will reveal all mysteries and make everything plain.”
300-400 years after Plato said that John wrote these words.
John 1:1-3
“1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in
the beginning. 3 All things were created through him,
and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created.”
Jesus existed from the very beginning of time. He existed
before His birth in Bethlehem.
While the birth we are celebrating is the beginning of His
ministry on earth. It is a vital step that eventually led to Jesus being the
ultimate sacrifice for our sins. It was necessary for us to have life eternal
with our Lord, but it was not His beginning.
Colossians 1:15-16
“15 He is the image of the invisible
God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For everything
was created by him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities— all things have been
created through him and for him.”
Jesus created us and everything around us. Without Him we
would not exist. He is Lord of all, greater than we can ever imagine, and more
powerful than our wildest dreams.
As you read through the Old Testament you will also see what
many believe to be manifestations of Jesus.
When Abraham gave an offering to Melchizedek in Genesis 14,
it is believed that it was Jesus in the flesh.
In Genesis 32, who was that that popped Jacob’s hip out of
socket when they finished wrestling?
When Joshua fell on his face and worshipped the one who
called himself the commander of the armies of the Lord in Joshua 5, could it
have been Jesus?
How about the 4th person in the fiery furnace
with Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego in Daniel chapter 3?
Jesus with Abraham, Jesus with Joshua, Jesus with Jacob,
Jesus with Daniel’s friends, and now Jesus is with us. Jesus, the Word, became
flesh and made His dwelling among us. He isn’t part man and part God, not ½ man
and ½ God, He is 100% man and 100% God. He is at once fully man and fully God.
So pure, that He could be born of a virgin.
Luke 1:34-35
“34 Mary asked the angel, “How can
this be, since I have not had sexual relations with a man?” 35 The
angel replied to her: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the
Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the holy one to be born will be
called the Son of God.”
What a perfect beginning of the earthly ministry of our Lord
Jesus. He was Holy enough to enter into a womb entirely on His own, yet He was
human enough to have no room in the inn.
Jesus, the maker of the universe, the One who invented time,
the One who gave you the breath you just took, was so humble that His parents
could not get a room in Bethlehem. Even though His mother was obviously
pregnant and ready to give birth, there was no room for them. How humble is
that for a beginning?
Jesus is humble enough to know what you’ve been through this
week. Humble enough to know what keeps you awake at night. Humble enough to
know the hunger pains of every child who goes to bed without dinner. Humble
enough to understand the prayers of the sick, the homeless, the rejected, and
depressed.
He remembers the pain of a hungry belly and the chill of a
cold night. He knows the story about how his parents were turned away and
rejected when in need. He knows what it is like to go without, to be tired, hungry,
beaten, and crucified.
Jesus understands how bad it can be, which is why we are
called to care for the least of these… in Matthew 25 we see that we are to care
for those who are hungry, thirsty, strangers, those in need of clothes, sick,
and in prison. There are people in need and you and I were created to help fill
those needs. We are gifted in many ways to help care for those in our paths. I
love what we have done for the Missouri Baptist Children’s Home. That is caring
for those in need.
Our Lord became flesh as a little child and you would think
the world would embrace Him.
John 1:10-11
“10 He was in the world, and the
world was created through him, and yet the world did not recognize him. 11 He
came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.”
Wouldn’t you love to talk to the innkeeper and find out what
he was thinking? Why put a pregnant woman in a barn with animals? Couldn’t he
find some place in his inn for them? Maybe it was just to inconvenient for him
to bother? Maybe he did not think a poor carpenter and his wife were worth the
time or the effort?
The innkeeper wasn’t the only one who turned away Jesus, he
was just the first.
Some people think Jesus is not worth the effort. Some think
that they have better things to do than come to church on Sunday. Sadly, too
many people turn Jesus away because they do not realize who He really is.
In the Book of Luke, it tells us, ‘there was no room for
them in the inn.’ Bethlehem was so crowded there was no room for the Lord of
Lords.
Today the world is so crowded with junk that Jesus keeps
getting turned away. Demands of this life crowd out Jesus. Headlines filled
with hate and violence weigh us down and pull us away from Jesus. Deadlines at
work, crazy busy sports schedules, social activities, and more… our lives today
are packed so full of things that can easily push Jesus out of the way.
Joseph knocked at the innkeeper’s door hoping they would
open up for him and Mary. Jesus knocks on the doors of our hearts, hoping we will
open up for Him. How are you going to respond? Are you too busy to answer? Are
you too busy to talk to your God? Are you too busy to read the words of Our
Lord?
We may be busy with all the other stuff, but we need to make
time for Jesus. He must come first.
We need to keep Him sitting on the throne of our lives. Jesus is King of Kings
and Lord or Lords and we must submit to Him regardless of if it is convenient
or not.
You might be thinking that Pastor does not know what he is
saying. Adding more of Jesus into my life is just going to make things more
complicated or harder than they already are.
Matthew 11:28:30
“28 “Come to me, all of you who are
weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take up
my yoke and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will
find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my
burden is light.”
Do those sound like the words of someone who wants to
complicate our lives or make them harder? No, they are the words of our Lord
who wants to be our strength in our time of need. He wants to give us His pure
peace and fill us with His joy regardless of what we are going through.
Having Jesus in our lives will require us to submit to Him,
but He will carry us through it. He knows we need Him. He knows we cannot do it
on our own. He knows we are lost without Him.
Which is exactly why He came to Bethlehem as a little child
in the first place.
2 Corinthians 5:21
“21 He made the one who did not know
sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
Simply put we need Jesus… we need that little baby laid in a
manger… we need the man who performed miracle after miracle… we need the Lord
who climbed on to that cross to die for our sins. We need to fully submit our
lives to Him.
Seems like a cliché sometimes, but Jesus gave us more than
we could ever imagine.
John 14:27
“Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not
give to you as the world gives. Don’t let your heart be troubled or fearful.”
Jesus has given us peace that is beyond our understanding to
carry us through our troubles and fears.
John 15:11
“I have told you these things so
that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.”
Jesus has given us His complete joy.
John 15:12-13
“12 “This is my command: Love one
another as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love
than this: to lay down his life for his friends.”
There is nothing greater than the Love of Jesus, demonstrated
by Him laying His life down for us.
Romans 6:23
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is
eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
No gift is greater than eternal life, and all you have to do
is submit your life to Jesus and it is yours.
The earthly journey that started with an angel visiting His mother Mary and had Him being born in the humblest of places, were the first steps leading to our salvation. Without Jesus being born, our chance of spending eternity with Him would be non-existent.
Celebrating the birth of that little child is celebrating
one of the critical steps that eventually leads to our life eternal in glory.
Jesus is knocking at the door offering you peace, joy, love,
and salvation. All you have to do is let Him in.
God Bless and Merry Christmas,
Robert
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