Man on a Mission: A New Response
Christmas is all about Jesus and His mission to save the world.
At the holidays, God's intention is that we would recalibrate, mending and going deeper in our relationships with Him and one another.
We will look at the response of two individuals to the coming of Jesus, and how we can reorient our lives based on their examples. God wants a fresh response from us.
Matthew 1:18-25 (NIV)
18This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 20But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”22All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).24When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
The Bible becomes a mirror to us. Holiday parties and our prep - like the wedding banquet of the Lamb for which we are preparing. The first and second coming of Christ.
Joseph's response
Our paradigm of worship has been shaped by our experiences. Whether it be dead religion or a dynamic walk of trust and obedience to God, the holidays are a good time to evaluate the camp in which we find ourselves.
Joseph could have missed the worship of God if he was only looking at his natural circumstances - a pregnant fiancée that he'd never been with, the shame of his commitment in a small community, the inconvenience of their trip to Egypt.
However, what he learned to do was see his circumstances, as the very things God was using to bring Joseph to Himself and to Joseph's life's purpose.
The chance meeting with the angel was no coincidence. What we call coincidence is better explained as God's providence. What encounters have you had that you can rightly acknowledge as God's providence to call you to a deeper place in your faith?
Matthew 2:1-16 (NIV)
1After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2and 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.” 3When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4When 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.’” 7Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8He 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.” 9After 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. 10When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11On 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. 12And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.13When 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.” 14So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15where 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.”16When 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.
Herod's response
King Herod was a paranoid man whose pride and stubbornness eventually destroyed his own family.
As Herod did, we try to get rid of anyone who may infringe on our sense of independence. Though Herod had front row seats to the coming of the King of Kings, He rejected Jesus along with the personal transformation that could have been his.
The fate of his family line.
Salvation is what God intended for Herod, but he would not even think of abdicating his throne, wrecking his own life and family in the process.
How is it that we can be like Herod - suspicious and resistant when anyone begins to speak of another KING that may threaten our place on our own throne?
Our response
Jesus comes to reorient our every day living. Life was never the same for Joseph when he said "yes" to the call of God.
Saying "yes" to Jesus implies new and renewed commitments.
She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21 NIV)
He came to save us from our sins, meaning that we must both acknowledge and turn from them to live as the child of God that He has called us to be. Anything else is a farce and a mockery of this season He had made holy.
Religious faith vs. genuine faith
It goes beyond mere head knowledge. Herod had head knowledge but would not respond appropriately to the reality of Jesus. Joseph, on the other hand, sought out the directives of God and allowed the commands of God to change him, despite the personal cost. We can be like Joseph:
1) Begin to open the Bible again over the holidays and, through prayer, search out God's directives for your life. 2) As you read, find the places where you've been like Herod, and begin to abdicate your throne. Allow it to be a mirror to you, and, with His help, make the necessary adjustments.
Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you–unless, of course, you fail the test? (2 Corinthians 13:5 NIV)
Second City Church - Man on a Mission Sermon Series 2012