“Could Christmas Happen Today?”

Scripture: Luke 2:1-5

C.I.: You Were There on Christmas Day!

“If only I could have seen the star / heard the angels / watched the shepherds…!
God knew our desire and so He put in all down in black (red?) and white!
I believe all of us were there (or at least, represented) on Christmas day (or there's abouts!!).

•  Three “Christmas” Promises God Still Keeps, (Matthew 1-2)

•  Promise #1: I Promise to Do the Impossible to Give You an Opportunity to Know the Savior!

•  ( Matt. 1:22-23 ), “Now all this took place so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled , saying, ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with Child, and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name, “Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.”'”

a. Why a “Virgin Birth”? Because it shows God is willing to do the impossible to save mankind (us individually) .

•  As the angel told Mary, ( Lk. 1:35 ), “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will over-shadow you, for this reason the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God.”

•  All of us have a story which shows the lengths to which God will go to save us…!

•  Will God keep bringing someone to your home, even when you are drunk, to teach you about Jesus?!

•  Would God send someone to teach you about Jesus even though you are living a sexually immoral lifestyle?!

•  How about someone who was a notorious serial killer and cannibal? Could God save them??!

•  Even so the coming of Jesus into a person's life is always miraculous…

1) ( Jn. 1:12-13 ), “… as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, - who were born not of
blood [family – a)] , nor of the will of the flesh [works – b)] , nor of the will of man [human desire – c)] , but of God.”
a) ( Matt. 3:9 ), “Do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father'; for I say to you,
that God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.'”
b) ( Eph. 2:9 ), “It [salvation] is not according to works that no one should boast.”
c) ( Matt. 7:21 ), “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of God, be he who does….”

d) Even the apostles themselves struggled to understand this, when they asked, ( Mk. 10:26-27 ), “‘Who can
be saved ?' – Jesus said, ‘With men this is impossible but not with God, for all things are possible with God.'

c. Mary was willing to accept this impossible news and God blessed her.
1) ( Lk. 1:35, 37 ), “The Holy Spirit will… Behold the bond-slave of the Lord, be it done to me according to your word.”

2) God is still keeping His promise by being willing to do the impossible in people's lives.

•  Promise #2: I Promise You that No Place is Too Small for Me to Use to Bless the World!

1. Not only did God use an obscure girl like Mary (who believed in he impossible), but also a small town like Bethlehem.
a. ( Matt. 2:1-6 ), “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king, behold, magi from the east
arrived in Jerusalem, saying… And Herod, gathering together the chief priests & scribes of the people, began to inquire of them
where the Christ was to be born. – And they said to him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it has been written by the prophet ,'”

1) It had been the place of Rachel's death & David's birth. But now it is just an obscure, out-of-the-way town.

b. God has always used those things which were believed to be too small or too insignificant to be important.

•  The nation of Israel, ( Deut. 7:1 ), “When the Lord your God shall bring you into the land which you are entering to possess it, and shall clear away the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, Jebusites, seven nations greater and stronger than you.”

•  Great endings always started as small beginnings, ( Zech. 4:10 ), “Who has despised the day of small things?”

•  Truly our faith is in the One who can do great things! ( Eph. 3:20 ), “Now to Him who is able to do exceeding….”

•  Can God use “little ole' Golden (i.e., us ) to do great things?” Jesus birth teaches us the answer is, “ YES!!!”

C. Promise #3: I Promise to Bring You Safely Through Life's Dangers!

1. The dangers for Jesus began while He was still very young.
a. ( Matt. 2:13-15 ), “‘...take the Child and His mother, and flee to Egypt & remain there until I tell you / for Herod is going to
search for the Child to destroy Him.' / And Joseph arose and took the Child and His mother by night, and departed for Egypt;
and was there until the death of Herod”

•  Herod was afraid of losing his throne. Like so many today he loved his power more than his God!

•  We need to ask, “Where is our faith; in the size of our fears, or in the One who is truly greater than our fears?!”

b. God still loves His people. He will always provide a means for us ( an Egypt ) to escape real danger.

•  I don't mean physical danger, for that too has been promised. -
a) ( II Tim. 3:12 ), “Indeed, all who desire to live godly will be persecuted.”

b) ( Matt. 10:28 ) , “Do not fear those who can destroy the body but have no power over the soul; but rather fear Him who
is able to destroy both body and soul in hell.”

•  No, God provides a way for us to escape that which is truly dangerous, i.e. spiritual danger!

•  ( I Cor. 10:13 ), “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it.”

D. God's Purpose for “Christmas”

1. Let's review these three promises and see if God is still willing to do these things for us!

a. Will God do the “impossible” and bring His Son Jesus into our lives?

1) Yes, if we allow Him to – ( Mk. 10:26-27 ), “‘Who can be saved ?' – Jesus said, ‘With men this is impossible but not with
God, for all things are possible with God.'”
2) He promises to save those who come to Him on His terms, ( Heb. 5:9 ), “He has become the author of eternal
salvation to all those who obey Him.”

3) ( Mk. 16:16 ), “He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved .”

b. Can God use an obscure place like Golden to bring the message of Jesus to the world?

1) Yes, if we allow ourselves to be used in our various ministries for Him.

2) In the ancient Greek city of Thessalonica, the people said, ( Acts 17:6 ), “These men who have turned the world
upside down have come here also!”

3) .. Yet it wasn't the men who “turned the world upside down,” but the message these men were willing to share,
( Rom. 1:16 ), “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew
and also to the Gentile.”

c. Can God bring us safely to Himself in spite of all that might happen to us…?
1) Promise #1 = being saved ourselves. Promise #2 = bringing the message of salvation to others)?

2) Yes, so long as we remain faithful to Him, ( Matt. 5:9-11 ), “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons
of God. Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely on account of
Me. Rejoice, and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

2. And this points to an even greater promise that remains!

a. ( Jn. 14:2-3 ), “In My Father's house are many dwelling places; - if it were not so I would have told you; - for I go to prepare a
place for you. – And if I go and prepare a place for you, - I
will come again and receive you to Myself; - so that where I am, there you may be also.”

1) Everyday can be Christmas – if we are willing to allow Christ to come into our lives!!!

2) If you are ready for this ( Mk. 16:16 ) – or if as a believer you need help along the way…!