The First Christmas Morning

Jesus was the Desire of All Nations but His coming into the World was very little observed and not many had taken notice of it. You would think that if the Son of God were to be brought into the world there would be a grand ceremony, crowns, scepters, flowers etc. you name it would be laid at His feet. The high and mighty princes of the world would bow at His feet.

This is the Messiah that the Jews had expected but yet none of this happened. The town that He was born in was Bethlehem. A little town. Quiet. Jesus causes a stir as soon as He is born. He had not spoken a word proclaimed a single doctrine, and when all you can see is a baby and all you can hear is a baby’s cries, still His influence upon the world is made manifest.

There is infinite power even in an infant savior.

Joh 1:11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

The very first ones who took notice of Christ after His birth were shepherds.

Luk 2:15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

They saw and heard glorious things. The whole purpose of all of this is to bring peace. Historians calculate since around 3600 BC; the world has only known 292 years of peace. Since this period there has been 14,531 wars, over 3 billion people have been killed in wars. 650 BC – 16,056 arms races and only 16 of those arms races have not ended in war. Those that did not end in war caused economic collapse to those countries involved.

The world is looking for peace. They will not find peace until they accept the prince of peace in their heart. Everything going on out here does not change the fact that He is coming.

Martin Luther said that Christmas consists of 3 miracles:

1) God became Man

2) Virgin was a mother

3) Heart shall believe all of this

A miracle occurs when we take God’s word exactly the way that it is written. Don’t have to doubt it, rest assure that it is true, base your life and your eternity upon all of it. Here we have the account of the wise men coming to Bethlehem in search of a savior. We could probably break this journey down into 3 points

I. SEEKER

There are some things that I think that history would love to re-write about the wise men. A lot of people may have the wrong idea about who these men were. They were not magicians, they were magi. It is not trick’s but truth they were following. In their day they were some of keenest minds. They were astronomers not astrologers. There is a difference.

Astronomers – study of science

Astrology – watching the stars to fall and hope they land in the right direction to give you some luck.

They weren’t looking for good luck they were looking Jesus! I don’t have to look at the stars to see what kind of a Christmas I am going to have. I can look to His star! They said we weren’t looking everywhere; they weren’t looking for any star but they were looking for His star!

They were scientists, they weren’t soothsayers. They were men of science. I believe they brought the greatest trophies of science to lay at the saviors’ feet. The science that God has given to us, the wisdom that God has given to us He doesn’t give us those things to pull us away from but confirms the truth of God. All of science can be laid at the saviors’ feet.

Even with all of our technology and science today, advances in medical field, the doctor can sew up the wound but only God can heal the wound! We thank God for that knowledge, we use that knowledge effectively but yet we realize without God none of those things would be.

Wisdom doesn’t lead you away from God, false education will you way from God.

Its funny today how people will believe that just because its written somewhere it’s the truth. There are no facts behind it but because they read it somewhere it’s the truth. If it’s on the internet then its true right? If it’s on Facebook it must be true right?

What I am reading here, what I am saying here, the book that I read out of is supported by a God that cannot lie, supported by facts that cannot change, If you read the prophecies record in scripture you will find 52 prophecies fulfilled, one for each week of the year, about before He ever came to this earth, the town he would be born, born of a virgin to the very town, the reason that he was there.

One for every week of the year that we can claim the promises of Christ. Jesus did not come to this earth by accident. Divinely Appointed by the father and he came at the right time and the right place!

It was predicted to the very day that He would come. So why then did they not see it?

400 years of darkness. Their minds have drifted so far from God, they didn’t know what they word of God said. They got to the point where they relied on their own wisdom and knowledge.

These seekers, wise men, were special people. Their wisdom came from the fact that they knew who they were seeking. They knew who they were looking for and they found Him.

II. SEARCH

There’s a lot of people looking in the wrong place for Christ at Christmas. Let’s be honest, we can all say that we get caught up in that. We get busy searching for other things, we forget about the true meaning of Christmas.

It’s not that those other things are wrong but we sometimes let those other things dictate what kind of a Christmas we are going to have. They faced a lot of enemies. These men knew that they were going to have to go through a wicked King. There were people there that were trying to lead them astray. It was a hard journey.

Sometimes if we aren’t careful, we can let those things turn our Christmas upside down. Sometimes you just have one of those weeks. Where I work this our busiest time of the year. It’s a busy time for a lot of people. This week if it could go wrong it did. Everyone you talk to is so busy. I can’t tell you how many hours I’ve worked or a lot of the things that I’ve done, sometimes you just go and go and go.

You get so frustrated, you get hindered you don’t have time to shop, everybody orders online anymore, worrying about if the gifts they bought are going to get to their loved ones in time but once they get there…

Don’t you think that once these men reached their destination, when they got to where Jesus was, when they got to that first Christmas, when they got the first glimpse of the Christ child, that everything that had hindered them was worth it all. They were standing in Christ’s presence!

That’s all I want for Christmas is Christ’s Presence! I know that I am going to have a good Christmas because the Lord is here! Every one of us have the right to praise Christ this morning, no matter what happens this morning, no matter what hinders us It’s because of Christ that we have this day!

We gain strength. They gained strength because He gave them a sign just for them! A wonderful sign. His start. They knew it was His star. Without Christ, everything that we do this holiday season is in vain without His presence. There are things that we feel obligated to do but we cannot overlook the presence of Christ and He is here today!

He came to give us Hope, to give us life everlasting, we have a savior here today!

III. SUCCESS

We see their success. A lot of times we look at what we went through to get to Christ but we fail look at what He went through to get to us. There’s a story about a missionary, but he went to an area that we call the Caribbean today. There was an Island that was inhabited with a large population of slaves years ago.

God laid it on His heart to go there and reach them for Christ.

But when he got there, they refused to accept him, they rejected him. He was the same race as their masters.

All they could think of was their masters when they were cruel to them, when they looked this missionary. They would work these slaves until dark and when they got home there was barely enough food to eat. They lived in terrible conditions and they rejected him.

A large part of the article about this missionary’s journey are filled with prayers that this missionary prayed to reach those slaves. God finally gave him his answer. You know what he did. He sold himself into slavery. For a tiny amount of money, he became a slave.

Suddenly those that rejected him, started accepting his message. Because now he was one of them. Have you thought about what Christ did on that first Christmas!?

He became like one of us. Sold himself into the bonds of this place. Sold himself into slavery so that He could redeem us and forgive us of our sins. What a price He paid. We sing the songs about the baby lying in the manger, I believe that he did cry, I believe that he looked like every other baby there, I don’t think that there was a crown in His head, I believed that He looked like every other baby.

I don’t think he looked like Joseph. What’s going through Joseph’s head? The one that I am married to, conceived by the Holy Ghost. I don’t think he ever figured out how but neither have I. It is not up to us to figure it out but God simply says I want your faith.

Why did he do it? He was born that we might be born again!

I heard a preacher telling the story of a little girl named Mary Ann Bird that touched my heart. She was a little girl that was born with serious birth defects. She had a cleft pallet and a hair lip. When she got into school, you know how kids are they liked to point out her differences.

When they would ask her what happened, her mouth was all scarred, her teeth were twisted for some reason she would lie, always lie, say she was in an accident, they would all make fun of her. The 2nd grade something happened that would change her life forever. They were getting close to Christmas. She had a 2nd grade teacher by the name of Mrs. Leonard, always happy and jolly.

Right before Christmas break was a good time to give the hearing test to the kids.

They said that hearing tests were a lot different than they are today. They would have to stand against the wall and put one ear to the door the teacher would have to whisper something through the door.

So that little girl went over and put her ear to the door and was Mrs. Leonard said next changed her life forever. She would usually make a statement like the sky is blue, or are those new shoes? Make a statement or ask a question.

But that day she had done something that she had never done before, she made one little statement and said I wish you were my little girl. Mary-Ann started crying uncontrollably. It was the first time anyone outside of her family had ever told her they loved her beyond her birth defect.

I’m here to tell you this morning that when Christ came to this earth over 2,000 years ago, he was crying out to those of us who had our heads turned away from God!

Saying I wish you were my child!

Because of Calvary, resurrection, the promise of God’s word, He came and rose again, we have the promise that we can be His child today, we can be forgiven of all of our sin, yes, he loves you here today,

The greatest gift that you will ever receive is the gift of eternal life.

No wonder they fell down and brought him gifts. He was and he is the savior of all of mankind! We have one hope and one desire, every person in this community, that we might all accept Christ and be born again.

Hear Him say, I wish you were my child.

That’s exactly what you have to do. To be saved you have to become like a little child. Ask Him into your heart here today. Become His child. You can ask Him here this morning to save you from all of your sins. What a great gift Christ gave us on that Christmas morning.