SERMON SEEDS G39 FOR DECEMBER 8, 2003
Posted by: jpeters <jpeters@...>
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THERE ARE FIVE NEW OUTLINES FOR CHRISTMAS IN THIS EDITION
MORE OUTLINES FOR THE CHRISTMAS SEASON MAY BE FOUND AT http://www.sermonseeds.org/CHRISTMAS.htm
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Isaiah 7:14 etc.
THE BIRTH OF GOD
The birth of Jesus is actually the birth of God. John 1:14
THE BIRTH OF GOD WHO IS PRESENT (EMMANUEL, GOD WITH US) Isaiah 7:14
THE BIRTH OF GOD WHO IS POWERFUL Isaiah 9:6
THE BIRTH OF GOD WHO IS PERPETUAL (ETERNAL) Micah 5:2
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Matthew 2:1-12
THE SEARCH FOR MESSIAH
REQUEST Vss. 1-3
The Wise Men came asking Where is He that is born King of the Jews?
RESEARCH Vss. 4-6
Herod was troubled and researched to find any information he could.
He learned of the prophecy of Micah 5:2.
REPORT Vss. 7-8
Herod privately got the information to the Wise Men. His hope is that they would report back and that he would be able to kill the Lord Jesus.
REWARDS Vss. 9-11
The rewards the Wise Men received for finding Jesus was actually seeing Him, worshipping Him, and sharing with Him.
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THE JOYS OF CHRISTMAS
THE ANGELS HAD THE JOY OF REVEALING Luke 2:8-14
With joy they announced the birth of Jesus to the shepherds.
THE SHEPHERDS AND ANNA HAD THE JOY OF REPORTING Luke 2:15-20, 37-38
They shared with others what they had seen.
MARY HAD THE JOY OF REFLECTING Luke 2:19
SIMEON HAD THE JOY OF RECEIVING Luke 2:25-30
He was promised that he would not die until he had seen the Lords Christ.
THE WISE MEN HAD THE JOY OF RECIPROCATING MATTHEW 2:9-11
They gave to the One who gave so much.
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MESSAGES AT CHRISTMAS
MESSAGE TO A DOUBTFUL PRIEST Luke 1:5-22
MESSAGE TO A DEVOUT BELIEVER Luke 2:26-38
MESSAGE TO A DEDICATED SERVANT Matthew 1:18-25
MESSAGE TO A DELIGHTED AUDIENCE Luke 2:8-20
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John 1:1-5, 14
THE WORD (2)
THE WORDS PREEXISTENCE Vss. 1,2
THE WORDS PARTNERSHIP Vss. 1-2 (with the Father)
THE WORDS POWER Vss. 3-5
THE WORDS PRESENCE Vs. 14
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MATTHEW 1-2
THE FORGOTTEN FACES OF THE MEN OF CHRISTMAS
FORGOTTEN FACES - #9 of 10
There are several men who are very much a part of the Christmas story in the Gospel of Matthew. From some of them we learn negative lessons, and from some we learn positive lessons.
JOSEPH - A TRUSTED MAN
Not just any man could be trusted to be the guardian of the Son of God! Notice 3 qualities that make Joseph a trusted man.
1. He was just. Vss. 18-19
2. He was compassionate. Vs. 19 - Not willing to publicly expose what he thought was Mary's sin, he would privately divorce her.
3. He was obedient. Matthew 1:20-25, 2:13-15, 2:19-23
HEROD - A TREACHEROUS MAN
Herod wanted the wise men to find the Christ Child, and report back to him. He said he wanted to worship Him, but he wanted to kill Him.
Notice his act towards the children of Bethlehem. 2:1-8, 16-18
THE PEOPLE OF JERUSALEM - TROUBLED MEN
When Herod was troubled, the whole city of Jerusalem was troubled too. Probably this was because when Herod was troubled, he troubled others. But being troubled would also be an indication of unbelief.
Where was the joy that Israel's Messiah was born? Matthew 2:1-3
When there is unbelief, there is trouble! Hebrews 11:6
THE WISE MEN - THOUGHTFUL MEN
1. Thoughtful to visit. Matthew 2:1-2
2. Thoughtful to worship. Matthew 2:11
3. Thoughtful to share. Matthew 2:11
4. Thoughtful to obey. Matthew 2:12
SERMON SEEDS A41
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Hebrews 2:5-9
WHO DO YOU SEE?
Hebrews #4 (Last in this series until January)
One of the greatest physical gifts that we have from God is our vision. The ability to see is so important and so wonderful. We see the beauties of nature and the beauty of our loved ones. We see the road so we can drive, the food so we can cook it, and the job so we can do it.
Seeing, however, often goes beyond physical sight. To truly see something means that we understand or grasp it. When we truly see something it means that we understand how something works or why someone does what they do. True sight includes insight!
God has always been concerned that our seeing go beyond the physical and enter into the spiritual. God wants us to see the things that concern Him and are about Him.
And it is possible to have poor physical vision, but great spiritual vision.
In order for someone to see physically they must have light.
In order for someone to see spiritually, they must have light.
God has provided us with light to see through his Son. John 8:12
In order for you to see spiritually, the Lord Jesus has sent us his Holy Spirit to indwell those who have trusted Jesus as their Savior. John 16:12-14
One of the tools that the Spirit of God uses to guide us into all truth, is the Word of God. The more we see in the Word of God the more Spiritual insight we will have.
This morning we return to the Book of Hebrews. This is the Book of the Bible which talks of things which are better. In the verses before us this morning, Hebrews 2:5-9, the author is showing us that Jesus is better than the Angels. He also shows us three things that we need to see, if we are going to have Spiritual sight, perspective, and/or understanding.
Vs. 5 One of the recurring themes of the Book of Hebrews is Christs superiority. In chapter 1, Jesus is shown to be superior. One of the ways He is superior is to the angels, Gods spirit-being servants. After a brief interlude to warn us not to drift spiritually in verses 1-4, the author of Hebrews returns to the theme of Christs superiority to the angels.
In verse 5 we are told that reign in the world to come will not be under the rule of angels. Of course, the world to come will be under the rule of God the Son. But it is important for you to see that God the Son is a man. He is both God and man.
Why is this important? To understand the importance of Jesus being a man please,
SEE GODS INTENTION Vss. 6-8a
Vs 6 The author of Hebrews is quoting Scripture. The location of the quote was not important to the author of Hebrews as he wrote although it is obvious that he knew where to find it. It is actually a quote from Psalm 8.
David is amazed at Gods kindness to man. And it you think about it, it is only because of Gods kindness that anyone exists at all. But God did not stop at just creating man. It is the position that he gave man that is amazing!
Vss. 7-8a Man was made a little lower than the angels.
How is man a little lower than the angels?
Angels are spiritual beings and have far more freedom to get around. Although there is a spiritual side of man, he has a spirit, man is primarily a physical being.
But God crowned man with glory and honor. Man has the glory and honor of being superior to every other being. Genesis 2:7, 1:27
Genesis 1:26 - And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
Gods intention from the very beginning was that man would rule the earth.
SEE GODS INTENTION
SEE MANS INDISCRETION Vs. 8b
Hebrews 2:8 - Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him.
Gods intention was that man rule over the earth.
It is obvious that man does not rule now.
If the deer we hunt were subject to man it would be no contest. It would be very easy for us to get a prize buck.
If wild animals were subject to man, Roy, of Seigfried and Roy, would not have been mauled by a Tiger.
And when it comes to agriculture, just because we plant and weed and fertilize, there is no guarantee of a perfect crop! If we were truly in charge of the earth things would grow wonderfully all the time.
And man as being in charge of the earth has not done a great job ecologically. Often man has not ruled well, causing pollution and even destruction of certain animals so they are non existent or almost non existent.
Man is obviously not ruling over the earth today.
It was Gods intention that he did rule.
What happened?
God had given man one basic rule. Genesis 2:15-17
Man violated Gods one basic rule. Genesis 3:1-6
So man blew it.
When man disobeyed God he lost in many ways his dominion over the earth. Genesis 3:17-19, 23-24
Man, through Adam lost his kingdom.
And worse man, through Adam lost his soul.
Death entered the world through Adams sin.
Physical death entered through Adam and Spiritual death entered through Adam.
Like Adam, we have sinned.
Because of our sin we have no right to reign on the earth.
Because of our sin we have no right to eternal life.
Oh, we havent eaten forbidden fruit, but we have failed to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, souls and minds.
We havent eaten forbidden fruit but we have listened to the devils subtle temptations to lie, steal, cheat, deceive and explode in unrighteous anger. Ezekiel 18:4
Humanly speaking we have no hope.
Because of our indiscretions we have not only lost our rule of the earth but life itself!
SEE CHRISTS INTERVENTION Vs. 9
Hebrews 2:9 - But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
The first word in this verse is what I call a blessed but.
Man blew it big time. His indiscretion is inexcusable.
There needs to be punishment because man blew it! He failed God.
You deserve punishment because you blew it! You failed God.
The blessed but turns us away from mans indiscretion and turns us to see Christs intervention.
But we see Jesus!
It is one thing to say man was made a little lower than the angels, but quite another to say that Jesus was made a little lower than the angels.
For Jesus to be made lower than the angels, it was a definite demotion. Jesus is God! John 1:1-2
And why was Jesus made a little lower than the angels?
He was made a little lower than the angels so that he could die for your sins. Philippians 2:6-8
Jesus tasted death for you, so that you can live.
He has paid for your sins.
He wants your trust. If you but trust that He died for you, He will give you forgiveness and eternal life.
1 John 5:11-12
But what about the earth?
It was Gods intention that man rule.
Christ is a man, the God-man.
Through His death for sin, he has regained for man the rule of the earth. He is crowned with glory and honor.
Jesus will return to earth and set up His Kingdom.
His kingdom will again have man in control of the earth. Isaiah 11:6-9
Through Jesus man will reign on the earth.
But what about you and I?
What will we be doing while Jesus reigns?
We will be reigning with him! Revelation 5:9-10, 2:26
Do you see Jesus as the one who died for you?
Have you trusted Jesus as your Savior?
If you have, you are in an awesome position.
You will one day reign with Him!
Are you acting like a future ruler?
Are you acting like a child of God?
Are you appreciating your position enough to live like the king you are?
In a one sense your kingdom is future. You will reign with Christ.
In another sense your kingdom is now. As a child of God, God gives us victory in this life.
Romans 6:10-14
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