Christmas 2017
Is There Room in Your Heart?
Pastor Bruce A. Shields
SERMON INTRODUCTION
TODAY’S SERMON
“Is There Room in Your Heart?”
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE
Luke 2:1-7
“In those days Caesar
Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman
world. 2(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius
was governor of Syria.) 3And everyone went to his own town to
register.
4So Joseph
also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the
town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5He
went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was
expecting a child. 6While they were there, the time came for the
baby to be born, 7and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She
wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for
them in the inn.”
I. To compare the birth of Christ at Bethlehem with his birth in our
hearts
a. God has not left this world without a yearly witness
of the birth of his son
i.
"The birth of Christ
means little or nothing to us if he has not been born in our heart"
ii.
This time of year the
witness that Christ came is everywhere
iii.
Yet there are still too many
that know little or nothing of the true meaning
b. We talk about room in the Inn, but Jesus never got
into the Inn
i.
We’re really not certain
where Christ was actually born. Some say a cave, some a barn, or perhaps a
stable
ii.
We do know that it must have
been around or near livestock because of the use of a manger for his cradle
iii.
It makes no difference where
Christ was born if he is not born in your heart!!!
c. Today I want to show the relation between our hearts,
and the lowly stable God chose for the birthplace of His Son.
II. BOTH ARE PLACES GOD
HAS CHOSEN FOR HIS SON TO ENTER
a. Don’t pity poor Joseph and Mary, God made the choice
of where Jesus was to be born
i.
Jesus’ birthplace was
ordained before the foundation of the world
ii.
Galatians 4:4-5
“4But
when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under
law, 5to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full
rights of sons.”
iii.
The Prophet Micah (5:2) had
foretold the place of his birth 700 years prior
“But you,
Bethlehem Ephrathah,
though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me
one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
from ancient times.”
though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me
one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
from ancient times.”
b. Just as God had chose the time and place
for Christ’s birth, God has chosen your heart for Him to dwell in;
i.
John 15:16
“You did not
choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit…”
ii.
Acts 9:15
“But the Lord
said to Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name
before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel.”
iii.
Ephesians 1:4
“For he chose us
in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his
sight.”
iv.
Ephesians 3:17-18
“I pray that out
of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in
your inner being, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through
faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power,
together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and
high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to
know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the
measure of all the fullness of God.”
c. BOTH ARE PLACES ARE
UNWORTHY OF DIVINE ROYALTY
i.
Stables and Hearts are Dirty, Dark and Defiled places;
1. Jeremiah 17:9
“The heart is deceitful above all things
and beyond cure.
Who can understand it?”
and beyond cure.
Who can understand it?”
2. Isaiah 64:6
“All of us have become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,
and like the wind our sins sweep us away.”
and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,
and like the wind our sins sweep us away.”
3. I Timothy 1:15 -
Paul
“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus
came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.”
III. Don’t get pridefull just because God chose you;
a. I Corinthians
1:27-31
“27But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the
wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28He
chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things
that are not—to cancel out the things that are, 29so that no one may
boast before him. 30It is because of him that you are in Christ
Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness,
holiness and redemption. 31Therefore, as it is written: "Let
him who boasts boast in the Lord."
There is no place on earth worthy of His presence;
There is no place on earth worthy of His presence;
i.
Romans 3:23
“for all have sinned and
fall short of the glory of God,”
ii.
Ecclesiastes 7:20
“There is not a
righteous man on earth
who does what is right and never sins.”
Nobody cleaned up the stable before his arrival
who does what is right and never sins.”
Nobody cleaned up the stable before his arrival
(It is useless for us to
attempt to clean up our own heart and make it a presentable place for Christ)
Jesus meets us where and how we are, just as he did the Samaritan, Zachaeus, Bartimaeus and Nicodemus
Jesus meets us where and how we are, just as he did the Samaritan, Zachaeus, Bartimaeus and Nicodemus
b. BOTH THE STABLE AND
OUR HEARTS ARE PLACES THAT GOD HAS CHOSEN FOR THE BIRTH OF HIS SON
i.
The
birth of Christ was a spiritual birth. Just as Christ was born of the Spirit in
the stable so the Holy Spirit wants to birth Christ in our hearts
1. Matthew 1:20
“But 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.”
2. John 3:6
“Flesh gives
birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.”
3. John 1:14
“The Word became
flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the
One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
c. The birth of Christ is what made all the difference in this stable
and He can make all the difference in our lives when He is born in our hearts.
·
II Corinthians 5:17-19
“Therefore, if anyone is
in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new
has come! 18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself
through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19that
God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins
against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.”
Has Christ been born in your heart?
·
John 6:63-65
“63The Spirit
gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you
are spirit and they are life. 64Yet there are some of you
who do not believe." For Jesus had known from the beginning which of
them did not believe and who would betray him. 65He went on to
say, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father
has enabled him."
Jesus KNEW from
before creation who would NOT believe, and who would betray Him.
He DID NOT CAUSE
THEM to not believe, or betray Him (as some teach predestination), rather, it
is God’s will ALL come to Him.
I Timothy 2:3-5 “This is good
and pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4who desires all men to
be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5For
there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus”
Because He knew who would not believe and would
betray Him, He CHOSE those who would believe, and “enabled” them to come to the
Father through Christ Jesus.
How does he “enable” those? By giving them the Holy Spirit.
|
BOTH THE STABLE
AND THE HEART ARE PLACES FROM WHICH GOD HAS CHOSEN TO REVEAL HIS SON
The Apostle Paul Called by God
Galatians 1:15-17a
“15But when
God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace (Paul did not become a
follower of Christ until later in life, but God, knowing Paul would serve Him
well, called Him, and enabled him), was
pleased 16to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among
the Gentiles, I did not consult any man, 17nor did I go up to
Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was…” (Also refutes
those who teach Apostolic succession)
The Greatest Witness is the Witness from the Heart
If Christ is Ever Revealed to this World it will be through us BOTH THE STABLE AND OUR HEARTS ARE PLACES THAT CANNOT BOAST OR CALL ATTENTION TO THEMSELVES What was the Focus of Attention? (Not the stable but the Baby!) Remember, the stable isn’t even mentioned by name! Our purpose is the call attention to Christ not ourselves! BOTH THE STABLE AND OUR HEARTS ARE PLACES THROUGH WHICH GOD DESIRES TO REACH A LOST WORLD The stable was the gateway of God to reach the world Amazing that God would choose a stable, me, and you
I’m not going to let a stable or
stones out witness me
BOTH THE STABLE AND OUR HEARTS ARE PLACES THAT HAVE BEEN IMMORTALIZED BY THE FACT THAT THE LORD JESUS CHRIST HAS ENTERED INTO THEM How many stables do you know of? 2000 years have not diminished the fame of this place Immortality is the results of receiving Christ into your heart
Colossians 1:27
“To them God has chosen
to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which
is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
|
ALTAR CALL
Want to hear the audio to this sermon? CLICK HERE!
-
-
-
No comments:
Post a Comment