TOPIC:"What Should We See In Christmas?”
by Rev. Dr. Reg Dunlap
TEXT:Galatians 4:1-7
"But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son" (4:4)
Christmas is not so much a matter of what we RECEIVE as it is a matter of what we SEE. But Christmas is even more than that! It is RESPONDING to what we see. In the unfolding of the great drama of the birth of Jesus Christ, our Savior, it is very interesting to behold what the participants saw that first Christmas. Let me show you what I mean. In Luke 1:29 MARY saw an angel who informed her of her divine mission - that of being the earthly mother of our Lord. In Matthew 1:20 JOSEPH saw an angel who explained to him Mary's present condition. In Luke 2:17 the SHEPHERD'S saw the infant Jesus in Bethlehem and then told everyone about it. In Matthew 2:2 the WISE MEN saw the star which led them to the Christ-Child. And in Matthew 2:16 HEROD saw that he had been outwitted and disobeyed by the wise men.
Now in each case those participants in that first Christmas responded to what they saw. In the case of Mary it led to ADORATION: "Mary responded, Oh, how I praise the Lord, How I rejoice in God my Savior" (Luke 1:46, 47, NLT). In the case of Joseph it led to ACCEPTANCE: acceptance of God's plan: "Then Joseph...did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife" (Matthew 1:24). In the case of the shepherds it led to ACTION: "And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger" (Luke 2:16). In the case of the Magi it led to APPRECIATION: "And when they were come into the house, they...fell down, and worshipped Him...and...they presented unto Him gifts" (Matthew 2:11). And in the case of Herod it led to ANGER: "Herod was furious when he learned that the wise men had outwitted him" (Matthew 2:16, NLT).
So we behold in that first Christmas these different responses - adoration, acceptance, action, appreciation, and anger. And that leads to me ask you: What should we see in Christmas? And are we willing to respond to what we see? Those are very important questions because our present joy and eternal destiny depend upon how we answer them.
I.
First of all, we should see in Christmas the COMMANDING God who is ready to ACT. Look at Him - this amazing God. He is the divine Mover, the sovereign Planner behind this whole event. This is the God throughout the entire Old Testament who promised that the Messiah was going to come. Listen to these words of Moses: "The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee...like unto me" (Deuteronomy 18:15). The promise of a prophet like unto Moses. . . .