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The Good News of Christmas · Sermon Podcast at Cartersville1st

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She was just an ordinary teenage girl.
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She didn't have any claim to fame.
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By today's standards, not very many people even knew her name.
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But God did. Her name was Mary.
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Mary's hometown was a small, simple village relatively
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unknown by the name of Nazareth. When it did come up in
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conversation, there was almost always an underhanded joke with
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the question, Could anything good ever come out of Nazareth?
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Mary loved God, but in all probability, Mary likely never
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thought God could or would use her to actually do anything
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great for the Kingdom of God. She was a simple young lady who
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probably thought she had nothing special to offer.
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But Mary had the one and only thing that God requires of us to
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be an instrument of extraordinary use in His hands.
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And that one thing is faith. Teenage Mary had faith in God.
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Teenage Mary believed God. Teenage Mary loved and trusted
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God. Teenage Mary is was looking
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forward to one of the greatest days that she could have
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anticipated in her life. It would be it would be the
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greatest celebration of her life at which she would be the center
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her wedding day to a young man by the name of Joseph.
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Second only to the birth of a future of any future anticipated
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children. This was going to be as good as
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it got for Mary. This would be the greatest
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celebration of her life. But all of that was about to
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change. God had what you might call a
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glorious interruption of her life in mine.
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The day God sent an Angel by the name, that day God sent an Angel
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by the name of Gabriel to visit Mary's life changed forever.
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I want you to listen from the word of God how her life changed
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forever in a glorious interruption out of Luke chapter
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1, beginning in verse 26. This is what the word of God
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says. In the sixth month, the Angel
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Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth
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to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph of the
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House of David, and the virgin's name was Mary.
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And he came to her and said, Greetings, O favored one, the
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Lord is with you. But she was greatly troubled at
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the saying and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might
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be. The Angel said to her, Do not be
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afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
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And behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bear a son, and
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you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great, and will be
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called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to
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him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over
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the House of Jacob Forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no
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end. And Mary said to the Angel, How
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will this be, since I am a virgin?
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The angels answered her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
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and the power of the Most High will over shadow you.
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Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of
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God. And behold, your relative
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Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this
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is the 6th month with her who was called barren.
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For nothing will be impossible with God.
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Amen. And Mary said, Behold, I am the
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servant of the Lord, let it be to me, according to your word.
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And the Angel departed from her. Mary and God, thanks to
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Gabriel's message, are now on the same page.
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Joseph, on the other hand, is a different story in so many ways.
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Joseph was also an ordinary young man in the eyes of most,
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if not most other men. There was nothing special about
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Joseph either. Nobody expected anything
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extraordinary out of Joseph's life.
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But Joseph again had the one and one and only thing needed for a
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man or a woman to be used in an extraordinary way by God.
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Joseph had the same thing Mary had, which is faith.
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Joseph was shocked and confused at the news that his fiancee
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Mary was pregnant. Can you imagine?
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Had someone unbeknownst to Joseph come in and swept her off
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her feet while he wasn't looking?
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Had she been violated? It didn't make sense, but he
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didn't want to shame her. He was angry, but Joseph was a
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good man and out of love for her.
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He can never be cruel to her. Joseph decided to do the only
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thing he knew to do, quietly divorce her, Break off the
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engagement. But all that was about to
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change. God had another glorious
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interruption in mind. I want you to listen to Matthew
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chapter 1. By the way, the Christmas story
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in Matthew is referred to as the Christmas story from Joseph's
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perspective. The Christmas story out of Luke
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is often referred to as the Christmas story from Mary's
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perspective. Matthew chapter 1, beginning in
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verse 18. Now the birth of Jesus Christ
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took place in this way when his mother Mary had been betrothed
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to Joseph. Before they came together, she
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was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit, and her husband
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Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame,
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resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these
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things, behold, an Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream.
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Saint Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your
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wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the
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Holy Spirit. She will bear a son.
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You shall call his name Jesus, for He will save his people from
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their sins. All of this took place to
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fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet.
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That's the prophet Isaiah. Behold, the virgin shall
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conceive and bear a son. They shall call his name
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Emmanuel, which means God with us. 700 / 700 years before
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Christ was born. In Isaiah Chapter 7, when Joseph
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woke from sleep, he did as the Angel of the Lord commanded him.
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He took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to
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a son and he called his name Jesus.
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For the second time Joseph was shocked, but this time he was no
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longer confused. It was all very jarring, but
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this time was absolutely crystal clear.
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Joseph would be the earthly father to the eternal Son of
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God, supernaturally conceived by the Holy Spirit in Mary's womb.
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By faith, Mary had said yes to God's glorious interruption of
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her life. Now by faith, Joseph also he too
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says yes by faith to God's glorious interruption of his
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life. Nothing is impossible with God.
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Why would we ever say no to God? And yet how tempted are we often
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to say no to God? Praise God, they said yes to
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God's interruption of their lives.
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Friends, whenever God calls, can I challenge you to say yes?
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Wherever God leads, can I challenge you to say yes when
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you feel like God? That's impossible.
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Remember, nothing is impossible with God.
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So say yes to God's plan and purpose and call however you
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know this is true. Here's the deal.
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Just because all things are possible with God, and just
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because you might choose to say yes to God, doesn't mean
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everything automatically gets easy.
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In fact, that's also happens to be the point.
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Many times when things don't get easier, they get they get
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harder. Joseph finally had the nursery
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ready. Can you imagine if you were a
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Carpenter and you know the Christ is going to be your son?
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What kind of crib do you think Joseph had spent months
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preparing? I can only imagine a crib for
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the Christ. What kind of craftsmanship must
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have gone into it? How proud he must have been of
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it. Mary had been trying to rest as
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much as she could, no doubt. And here's the deal.
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The Angel though had only appeared to Mary and Joseph, not
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their parents, not their grandparents, not their
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siblings, not their friends, not their neighbors, and not their
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Co workers. Everyone else thought what
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Joseph had thought prior to hearing from the Angel Gabriel.
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This birth was not going to be easy.
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It was not a family celebration. It was a small town scandal.
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Everyone that came by Joseph's shop for carpentry work kept
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asking him if he was sure. If he was sure that he wanted to
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go through with it. Everyone understood if he had
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wanted to divorce her. Joseph, I would imagine, didn't
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bring up that he had spoken with an Angel.
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I don't think that had been good for business.
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Joseph probably kept that to himself.
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Perhaps he just smiled and said thank you.
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Pray for me as I do what I know God has called me to do.
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They frowned at Mary. They felt sorry for Joseph.
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What if saying yes to God means doing something no one else will
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understand? What if saying yes to God means
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doing something no one else in your life will understand?
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You see, God had a calling on Mary and Joseph's life.
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What if they had been more concerned about public opinion
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or parental opinion than they were God's opinion?
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What if they would have feared people more than they feared
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God? What if they didn't have the
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guts to walk by faith in the face of what you know was good
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common sense advice from people who love them, but God's call on
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their life wasn't common, was it?
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So common sense advice didn't fit?
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What if they'd have been more concerned about people's opinion
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more than God's? Here's the deal, ladies and
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gentlemen, boys and girls, mark it down.
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Ultimately, every man and every woman has to decide that their
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life and living is between them and God alone, and everyone else
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can post their comments underneath their life if they
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want to. But the only ultimate opinion
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that matters to you is God's. Is that the one you're living
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for? Is that the only one that really
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matters in your life? What God thinks, not what
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anybody else thinks Because of God's calling on your life.
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Can I ask you, do you know if you're living out God's calling
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on your life? Are you saying yes to God?
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Are you managing your life based on the opinions and the comments
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that keep popping up below? Speaking of things getting
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harder before they get any better, Mary is nesting.
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I'm imagining Joseph is preparing, and then worst case
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scenario happens. The last thing Joseph and Mary
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wanted to hear was what came about politically at the moment,
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getting close to the time she would give birth.
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I want you to turn back to Luke chapter 2.
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Listen to verse one through 7. Worst case scenario.
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In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all
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the world should be registered. This was the first registration
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when Corinius was governor of Syria, and all went to be
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registered, each to his own town.
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And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of
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Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David, which is called
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Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to
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be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.
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While they were there, the time for her came to give birth, and
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she gave birth to her first born son, wrapped him in swaddling
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clothes, and laid him in a Manger because there was no
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place for them. In the end, the timing of this
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decree could not have been worse.
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Caesar needed a census so we can know how much money should be
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coming in daily in his treasury. The most powerful man in the
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world had ordered something that was going to affect their lives
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and Luke doesn't tell us. The date of this census is
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obviously pretty close to Mary's due date. 90 miles over 4 days
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on the back of a donkey while nine months pregnant.
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Do I have any volunteers? 90 miles by foot for Joseph over
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4 days I think. Gave Joseph a lot of time to
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think, don't you? Now, Joseph, this is all Kyle
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here, not Bible. Joseph may have just been
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blessing the Lord and honoring him the whole way he might have
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been. But my guess is at some point
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along the way, maybe day 2 or maybe the middle of day three, I
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think Joseph asked God some questions.
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Maybe like this gone. If you sent an Angel to talk to
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me and my fiance, if you caused her to conceive supernaturally.
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God, were you not paying attention to Caesar's calendar?
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God did. Did you not see this coming?
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God, do you realize Mary might give birth on the side of the
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road? God, could you not have timed
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this more perfect? God, if you're really in
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control, what is going on? Let me put it like this.
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Do you think, do you think this is what popped in my mind?
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Do you think Joseph over 4 days leading that donkey with Mary,
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almost nine months spread, do you think Joseph was enjoying
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the journey? I mean, maybe I don't want to
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cast shade on Joseph. I don't need to.
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He may have been far more righteous than I realized.
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But if he was like me, I'd have been struggling between getting
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the donkey moving too fast and making Mary uncomfortable.
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Right? To like trying to get there and
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avoid trying to be on the side of the road.
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I think that I would have not been enjoying the journey
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because it had been being spoiled by worry.
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Can I ask you the question, Do you think God wanted Joseph to
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enjoy the journey? I think so, but I bet he
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struggled to. Why?
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Because of worry, because of anxiety, wondering all the what
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ifs, having already heard nothing's impossible with God,
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but now in a situation where it just doesn't look all like
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Joseph would have arranged. Now let me ask you a question.
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Are you enjoying the journey or is it being spoiled by worry or
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is it being spoiled by any anxiety?
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Maybe you know God's in control, you know God's got a plan, but
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it just doesn't all make sense right now.
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But do you think God wants you to enjoy the journey?
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I think we know the answer to that question, right?
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And we can, if we remember and trust him by faith.
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Joseph may have been putting all this together, but I think he
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probably was struggling. But I can just imagine the whole
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time, God the Father was smiling.
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Why? Because where did the Old
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Testament prophecy that Jesus would be born?
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Right where Mary and Joseph were headed?
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Micah 5 verse 2 But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too
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little to be among the clans of Judum, from you shall come forth
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for me, one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is
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from of old from ancient days. You see, God is committed to His
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plans and His purposes. He invites us in by faith to
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participate. God never promises it will be
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easy or that we will always understand.
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Joseph is on a journey just like God may have you on in ways
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wanting you to trust him by faith and it not be spoiled by
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worry. They make it, but things don't
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get any better, they get worse. You've been there before,
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surely, Joseph, like, oh, God, if you got me going, you're
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going to have a spot for us. What was the message when they
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got there? You know, we don't know the
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exact situation, but what we do know is there was not a proper
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room for a woman nine months pregnant to give birth in, not
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the one she would have chosen. We don't know exactly where it
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was, but it was obviously closely associated enough with
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animals for Jesus to be laid in a feeding through as a crib
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because Joseph couldn't U-Haul the one he had worked so hard on
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in Nazareth. Mary and Joseph were again in
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shock. This is not what they expected.
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God had a glorious interruption in mind, though from an earthly
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perspective. The scene of Jesus's birth from
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an earthly perspective could have looked disastrous.
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But God the Father smiling? Why?
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Just think about the meaning of it all.
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Bethlehem, which means House of bread, was the place He promised
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His Son would be born in the flesh, and His Son, the bread of
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life, born in the House of bread, was placed in an object
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used for food. Where an actual lamb might have
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been born. The Lamb of God was born to take
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away the sins of the world. Mary and Joseph still can't
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believe it, but God the Father smiling at the meaning of it
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all. Jesus would come as the Savior
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of the world, and He would also come as the great Shepherd of
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the sheep. So guess who gets the first
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announcement? The shepherds do.
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Listen to Luke chapter 2 verse 8 through 14 and in the same
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region. There were shepherds out in the
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field keeping watch over their flock by night, and an Angel of
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the Lord appeared to them in the glory of the Lord shown around
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them, and they were filled with great fear.
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The Angel said to them, Fear not, for behold I bring you good
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news of great joy that will be for all the people.
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For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior who
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is Christ the Lord, and this will be a sign for you.
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You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a
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Manger. And suddenly there was with the
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Angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and
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saying glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace
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among those with whom he is pleased.
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Don't be afraid, the Angel said. Fear is often what spoils the
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journey for us. Don't be afraid.
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Remember, nothing's impossible with God.
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I bring you good news of great joy for all people, for unto you
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is born this day, a Savior who is Christ the Lord.
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Glory to God and peace to man. God is giving man a way of
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salvation. It would all start with the
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birth of His Son, but this would be the beginning.
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For this would lead to the living of a sinless life by our
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Savior in our place. He was born to live that sinless
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life because we have not lived that sinless life.
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And living that sinless life, He would go to the cross as a
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substitute sacrifice in our place to pay for your sin and to
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pay for my sin. I read the other day in my quiet
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time, something to do just quietly in meditation is just to
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think about the cross and think about it for about 5 minutes,
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long enough to let it sink in of what Christ did for you.
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Think about what would have gone into that moment, what he'd have
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been thinking, what he would have been feeling and
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experiencing. Christ was born to live a
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sinless life for you to die for your sin on the cross, and then
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to go to the grave having tasted death, to defeat the greatest
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enemy itself, death itself, to walk out alive, to live forever
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more, to offer you eternal life and forgiveness of sin.
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If, as the Bible says, you would call on Him to be saved by
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confessing Him as Lord and believing in your heart, God
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raised Him from the dead. This good news, ladies and
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gentlemen, it's for you and it's for me.
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It's for every single person. In our final few minutes, I want
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to just zoom out of the story we've just recounted and remind
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you of the bigger story. Because it's hard to sometimes
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make sense of the Christmas story without understanding the
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the bigger story. And this is what's in your notes
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if you want to follow along about the bigger story of the
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good news of Christmas. And it's simply this, I want to
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remind you that the good news of Christmas wasn't out of the
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blue. It was promised.
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It was promised by God. How far back was it promised?
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All the way back to Genesis 315. You don't have to turn there,
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but I just want to walk you through some of the places God
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promised. God promised the story of
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Christmas in Genesis 315. It says this.
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I will put enmity between you. That's hostility between you and
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the woman. He's speaking to the serpent.
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He's speaking to Satan and the woman and between your offspring
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and her offspring. He that's the offspring of the
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woman will bruise your head. That's the head of the serpent
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and you serpent, the enemy, Satan shall bruise his.
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That's the offspring of the woman's heal.
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You see what here is being promised is God promised the
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good news that one day one would be born of woman who would crush
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the head of Satan. The good news goes all the way
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back to the beginning from the moment sin entered the world
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that God would send born of woman and offspring.
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As I read an article this week by New Testament scholar that we
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have a skull crushing Savior crushing the head of the very
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enemy who tempted and caused us to sin and turn our backs on
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God. God would send one.
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The good news was promised. God would send one to do
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something about it. Not one that he'd be born of was
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Mary. And the bruiser of the serpent's
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head is Jesus. You see, the good news of
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Christmas was the news we'd all been waiting for ever since the
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bad news of sin entering the world.
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And then if you move forward, let me show you one more.
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In Genesis 12, verse 3, the Bible says this to Abraham.
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God says I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors
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you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall
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be blessed. God promised through Abraham to
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bless all the families of the earth.
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How would that happen? By sending the Savior of the
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world in the line that is to be the offspring of Abraham.
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Jesus would take on flesh and bear the sins of the world as a
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son of Abraham. You see, the good news of
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Christmas was the news we'd all been waiting forever since God
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began with one man to make one nation through whom He would
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send the God man for every nation.
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God promised He was going to do this.
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This wasn't random. This wasn't out of the blue.
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God promised He would do this for you and for me #2 the good
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news of Christmas was at random. It was prophesied.
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God didn't just promise it, but he used and called prophets to
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speak it in advance. Let me show you a couple places,
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Deuteronomy verse chapter 18, verses 18 and 19.
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This goes all the way back to the prophet Moses.
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And God says this. I will raise up for them a
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prophet like you, Moses from among their brothers, and I'll
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put my words into his mouth. He shall speak to them all that
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I command him. And whoever will not listen to
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my words that he shall speak in my name.
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I myself will require it of you see, from the moment of Moses
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who led the nation of Israel to physical freedom, God promised
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to send another prophet greater than Moses to lead us to
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spiritual freedom. This was not random, this was
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prophesied. This was the unfolding of the
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plan of God in the fullness of time.
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And then as we heard earlier, quoted in the Gospels, the
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prophet Isaiah Chapter 7, verse 14.
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Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign.
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Behold, the Virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and
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shall call His name Emmanuel. That means God with us.
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Isaiah expands upon that in Chapter 9, verses 2 and verses 6
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and seven. You know these well.
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The people who walked in darkness have seen a great
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light, Those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness.
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On them a light has shown. Verse six and seven.
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For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the
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government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be
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called. Wonderful counselor, mighty God,
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everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, of the increase of his
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government and of peace there will be no end.
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And on the throne of David and over his Kingdom to establish it
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and uphold it with justice and with righteousness.
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From this time forth and forevermore the zeal of the Lord
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of hosts will accomplish this. God spoke to Moses about Jesus
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coming 1400 years before Jesus was born.
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God spoke to Isaiah and prophesied to him over 700 years
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before Jesus was born. Ladies and gentlemen, this is
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not Once Upon a time. This is not a quaint little
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story. This is the facts of history
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that God promised and prophesied.
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What happened? Has this news changed your life?
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Can I put it like we put it earlier?
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Has the good news of Christmas gloriously interrupted your
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life? Do you believe God couldn't
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forgive you or save you because you won't believe that all
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things are possible with God when the Bible clearly says all
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things are possible? Thirdly, finally, the good news
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of Christmas wasn't a secret. It was public.
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Wasn't a secret. It was public.
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Let me just point out three, three ways.
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It was public in the Gospels. It was #1 it was public in the
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fields again to the shepherds, Luke 217 and 18.
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And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been
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told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at
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what the shepherds told them. The shepherds didn't go back,
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and they weren't quiet about it. They kept talking about it and
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announcing what they had seen. It was public in the fields and
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then it was public in the temple.
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So you remember in the story as it advances, and we'll see this
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next week, Mary and Joseph eventually take Jesus to the
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temple where they run into two people, Simeon and Anna.
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And Anna specifically, it speaks like this.
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And coming up at that very hour, she, Anna, began to give thanks
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to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the
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redemption of Jerusalem. Anna's making this thing go
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viral. It was public in the fields.
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It was public in the temple. Thirdly, it was public in the
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government office. It was public with the king and
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the capital city. Matthew 2 verse one through 3.
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Now after this Jesus, after Jesus rather, was born in
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Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise
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men from the east came to Jerusalem saying, where is he
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who's been born king of the Jews?
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For we saw his star when it rose, and we've come to worship
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him. When Herod the King heard this,
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he was troubled. And guess how many others?
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And all Jerusalem with him? It was public in the fields, it
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was public at the church, it was public in the capital city, in
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the King's office. It was promised, it was
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prophesied, and it was public. What's the good news of
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Christmas for you? A Savior has been born.
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Who is Christ the Lord for you and for me, a Savior has been
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born. He was Christ the Lord.
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I want to finish like this. This announcement, this good
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news of Christmas that I pray has been a glorious interruption
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in your life. If it's been a glorious
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interruption in your life, then you have a time in your life
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when the news of Christmas that Christ came, that He was born
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and lived a sinless life and died for your sin and was raised
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from the dead has changed your life because nothing is
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impossible with God. Just like it changed Mary and
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Joseph's life where you 2 had to choose.
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Am I going to live based on what I know is true and what God
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says? Or am I going to live based on
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what everybody else says in man's opinion?
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Or am I going to live for God's opinion?
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Has the good news of Christmas gloriously interrupted your
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life? But here's what I want to finish
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with this News of Christmas is not advice.
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It is news. You know what advice is?
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Advice is some counsel on the way you should change the way
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you're living, on some modifications to your behavior,
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on some common sense ways you ought to make some adjustments
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to your life. But news urges you to recognize
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something that has already happened and that you must
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respond to. News says someone else has
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acted. Advice tells you it's up to you
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to act, but news is that someone else has acted on your behalf.
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You see, the deal is essentially one argument you can make that
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just makes things clear is that every other religion and every
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spiritual leader is trying to give good advice on the way you
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should take. Jesus came and said what I am,
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the way, the truth and the life, and no one comes to the Father
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except through me. Jesus says you could have never
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come to me, therefore I've come down to you.
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That's not advice, that's news. Has that news changed your life?
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Yes, obviously the gospel has massive implications for how we
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live. But first, the message of the
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gospel and of Christmas is a message of the good news that
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salvation has been provided for you.
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Have you received that gift? Has it changed your life?
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The Bible doesn't say Once Upon a time.
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It says for you unto you this day.
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It was a day that Jesus was born in history.
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He was born in Bethlehem. Why don't you think about it
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like this? Jesus was born in Bethlehem, in
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history, born in the flesh so he could be born in your heart by
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faith, so that you could be born again and made alive, changed,
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given the hope of heaven. And even though you walk through
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the valley of the shadow of death, you can fear no evil, for
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he's with you and you can walk with joy, just like we saw an
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example of. And Miss Nancy, from the moment
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you take your last breath and see him face to face.
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Has the good news of Christmas changed your life?
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I'm going to ask you to bow with me.
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John and praise team are going to come.
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If you're here this morning and the good news of Christmas has
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not gloriously interrupted your life, today is the day that it
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can. It's not up to you to do
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something. Jesus has done what needs to be
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done, but it is up to you to simply believe and receive that
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news by faith. The Bible clearly says if we'll
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call on the name of the Lord and we'll be saved, If we'll confess
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him as Lord and believe in our heart, God raised him from the
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dead, you will be saved. I'm going to stand down here at
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the front if you need to step out from where you are and say
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pastor calm, I need to receive the good news of Christmas
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today. I believe all things are
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possible with God, and that includes the fact my sin can be
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forgiven and Jesus can give me the hope of heaven.
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Would you come talk to me? We'd love to pray with you.
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We'll have encouragers close. If the gospel has gloriously
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interrupted your life, maybe you just need to remember, like
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Joseph did, maybe on the road to Bethlehem, that God not only
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wants to interrupt your life, he wants you to enjoy the journey,
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no matter how hard, no matter what the difficulties are, for
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you to remember that all things are possible.
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You'd remember that living for His opinion and his alone is the
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only thing that matters. And maybe today's the day just
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to hit reset this Christmas and say, God, I feel like something
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could happen right here on the side of the road.
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And I don't know why I am where I am or why I'm facing what I'm
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facing, but I know you didn't. This didn't catch you by
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surprise. And I'm going to choose joy and
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faith, not fear and worry. God, I know you got a plan.
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I'm trusting you. I'm invite you to make that
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decision, to just trust Jesus. Today I'm going to pray that
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we're going to sing. Heavenly Father, help us respond
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to you in faith today. To say yes to you for nothing is
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impossible. With you, in Jesus name, Amen.
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Would you stand with me? Let's worship you.
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Respond as the Lord leads you. This morning you come.