THE MIRACULOUS BIRTH!
We thank the Jewish people during this sacred season for giving us the Old Testament Patriarchs, the 12 apostles, the first family of Christianity, and our Messiah, Jesus Christ.
Text: Luke 2:8-14
One of the GREAT TESTS of living for Christ is MAINTAINING A POSITIVE OUTLOOK, and AN ATTITUDE OF HOPE AND PEACE.
Often, our hope and peace come under attack for several reasons. Hope is a Digital Download of the imagination; so is despair. Hope is a video that prompts the mind to explore every possibility. It is like special effects; if you can dream it, it can usually happen.
Hope, when enabled, pictures every possible answer, tries every door, and looks for every piece of the puzzle. It believes it can.
We learn hthat ope and peace are a part of the Church family.
It is in the family where we learn the lessons of HOPE AND PEACE, HOW TO BELIEVE despite CIRCUMSTANCES.
2 BIRTHS
The Birth of Jesus
The Birth of Ichabod
The Birth of Jesus.
At the time of the birth of Jesus, everyone knew that the Messiah’s birth was nearing. Many mothers were naming their children Jesus. (Yeshua) (OT=Joshua)
Two names are huge in the Bible. Jesus, Immanuel.
There are some names from the Old and New Testaments that you shouldn’t name your children: Judas: Traitor Jezebel: Harlot
One name was given to a child before Christ, and it is a name that you shouldn’t name your child. Ichabod: The glory of the Lord has departed.
THE BIRTH OF ICHABOD.
I Samuel 4:19-22
A lady is giving birth, and it’s the worst day of her life. She hears that the Philistines have taken the Ark of the Covenant. The presence of God, the favor of God, the Ark of God has been stolen. NOT ONLY THAT.
Another Servant: runs in with some bad news: Your F.I.L., the servant of God, Eli the High Priest, who intercedes before God for you, fell over and broke His neck.
Another Servant: Even worse news, your husband was killed in a battle. The wife of Phinehas. The mother is having a baby. She decides to name the baby ICHABOD.
Don’t ever allow your present to name your future. It’s easy to get in a bad season, but you don’t have to let what is going on be the Newscaster for your future.
- THE CHILD’S NAME WAS A STATEMENT ABOUT HIS LIFE.
The mother decides to name her baby: ICHABOD. When she called that child, she said that the glory had departed from my life, my marriage, and my family.
There are no more good days. There is no more happiness. There is no joy in my life. Just name that child what I am presently going through. ICHABOD, the glory has departed.
THE BIRTH YESHUA – YAHWEH – JESUS
Jesus’s name is a statement about our lives. (Matt. 1)
The prophet says that His name shall be called Immanuel, for He shall save His people from their sins.
There are two kinds of spirits, and there are two kinds of attitudes.
You have to choose which one you’re going to have.
You are either going to have THE SPIRIT OF JESUS,S or you will have “ICHABOD SPIRIT.”
ICHABOD SAYS: Just give up, don’t have faith. Throw in the towel. Don’t have hope, don’t have belief, don’t have dreams, don’t believe that God is going to do great things.
THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS says, don’t give up, your story is not over, don’t put a period where God puts a comma, there is still hope.
THE MESSAGE OF CHRISTMAS IS INCARNATIONAL – GOD WITH US.
You have to choose. You have to choose between….IMMANUEL…Christ has come…He has come to set me free. He has come to give me new life.
Or you choose to believe the Message of Ichabod. ICHABOD is the Ebenezer Scrooge of the OT.
Life is going down, down, down. I have had setback after setback.
If you are not careful, you will take on that spirit. You will take on that attitude.
You begin to believe that nothing is good. Nothing is positive. You are way too serious. You are constantly frowning. Things are bad, and they are going to get worse, and so you go around with this ICHABOD Spirit.
WHEN YOU HAVE AN ICHABOD SPIRIT, THE GLORY HAS DEPARTED.
The joy, the hope, the fun, the happiness are gone.
- You become the Poster Child for the book of Lamentations; you are sad, you are down all the time.
- Many Christians have a non-victorious Spirit.
- They allow life to hit them in a way that just levels them all the time.
- We all go through things, but the message of Christmas is INCARNATIONAL, God with us.
We go through it with God with us, God for us, and God on our side. As Job said, “I know my Redeemer Lives.”
We will declare in our Spirit that Immanuel makes all the difference. He has come, He is here, and He is in our midst.
I AM PREACHING TO YOU IN YOUR LIFE: Immanuel is mightier than Ichabod.
If you are not careful, you get that Ichabod Spirit. Life is always hard..no fun..no joy…all work..no play.
- You can take on that Spirit, and it will cause you to take a brush and paint your life all one color.
- IF YOU LISTEN TO THE NEWS, THE NAYSAYERS, THE DOUBTERS, THE DOOMSDAY PEOPLE, IT IS ALL ICHABOD.
Jesus has not only come…But He has provided a way out, and a way up for you.
You may feel like the glory has departed, but with Christmas, the Glory is here.
Matthew 1:21
The world’s message is ICHABOD, the glory has departed.
People want to say that we are not even a Christian nation anymore, but I have a message for the Ichabods:
ISAIAH 9:7-9
Whatever comes, whatever happens to you, whatever happens to me, whatever happens to this nation.
One thing I know: time is marked in BC (Before Christ). Immanuel has come!
WE NEED A GLORY MENTALITY.
Luke 2- And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
-I am concerned that the church can take on that Ichabod Spirit…oh, the glory is no longer here. Where has the fire gone? Oh, nothing is happening anymore. Oh, where is the move of God? Ichabod, people get an Ichy spirit. The move of God is over with. Miracles are no longer.
The same God that opened blind eyes, the same God that rose from the dead, the same God that was conceived in a virgin named Mary. That God is with us…..
- HE IS STILL HERE. HE IS STILL AMONG US!
God has not called us to march toward dullness in Christianity.
We are NOT just waiting for Jesus to come and get us out of here, no, I’m not waiting for God’s presence in the future. I have God’s presence now because IMMANUEL IS HERE. That is the message of Christmas:s Jesus has come. He is with us.
Ps. 16:11; John 14:27
ILLUS.I was a Children’s Youth pastor in my first position in Liberty, MO. In case you have missed the point. I will break it down for you. CHICKEN LITTLE
- GOD HAS NOT ABANDONED YOU.
You have to resist the message that Ichabod has come; no, Jesus has come.
He was born in Manger. Do not think that He has abandoned you or anyone else. “I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against them.”
It’s not Ichabod, it is Immanuel…God is with us…get in neat.
STORY: Joseph is dating a respectable little Jewish girl from Bethlehem.
They make arrangements for a marriage. Not too long after Mary was espoused to Joseph, the HS came over here, and she became pregnant with a child.
Joseph doesn’t know about this. Mary goes to her cousin Elizabeth’s house for 3 months. She has been gone for 3 months. When she comes back, she is showing.
Remember that Joseph hasn’t seen her in 3 months. When he does -THE Ichy spirit comes over him. ICHABO, the glory has departed from this relationship… she says I need to talk with you… He says: obviously.
You don’t understand…I talked to an angel. Joseph says, “I think you’ve been with a devil. This isn’t Ichabod, this is IMMANUEL!
ILLUS.: I want to say this to some of you. I have learned, after serving God for many years, that when I thought it was Ichabod, it was actually…IMMANUEL.
Can I tell you that God is in control? He has divine destinations for your life. He has a pathway and a purpose for your life, even when you don’t see them.
Things are going well… can you say with me? GOD IS WITH ME.
He is an ever-present help in time of trouble.
In your marriage…keep an Immanuel Spirit.
“Well..we don’t love each other…we should just quit. The glory has departed.
- When you first fall in love, it’s ideal, and after you are married for a while, it is an ORDEAL.
- Then, if you don’t get it fixed, you start thinking that it is a RAW DEAL. Then you are ready for a new deal.
It is so easy to say Ichabod…we missed God.
- All you have to do is say: Immanuel, hold hands, and walk through this storm together, and watch the glory return.
- It is the story of Christmas..GOD IS WITH US. You look like you have Ichabod, but I am going to prophesy IMMANUEL.
ILLUS.:Airplane. Economy. First Class.
Walk through the curtain. 3 feet. 3 inches wider than a seat. This man went Ballistic. He told the Stewardess when he would spend eternity. He went nuts. Got his bags and humiliated himself. We can’t even move 3 feet, and it disrupts people.
People lose their parking space and have a meltdown.
People are funny; they want the middle of the road, the front of the bus, and the back of the church.
Jesus willingly took on the form of a servant.
Philippians 2:6-8
Here’s what the Bible says: “Jesus considered himself equal with God.”
He was neither vice president nor a junior partner at the Trinity firm. He was as much God as God the Father; He was as much God as God the Holy Spirit.
He was present at the beginning, when the Earth was created.
He was God then, and He’s God now.
GENESIS: LET US MAKE MAN IN OUR IMAGE.
Jesus was there when the world was formed.
All-powerful, all-knowing, omniscient, omnipresent, immutable. Jesus was the Father, Son, and HS.
Equal shared power. Jesus volunteered to be demoted. He said I’ll do it, not for a day, but for 33 years.
Jesus said I volunteer to be demoted. I’ll go down. I’ll be born in a barnyard.
“They wrapped Him in swaddling cloths.” (Strips of cloth used in the barn)
ILLUS.We romanticize the birth of Jesus, but it was neither beautiful nor elegant.
The cave He was born in smelled like livestock. It reeked of urine. If that was not enough, when He became a full-grown man, He washed the disciples’ feet.
The ones that he washed, one would betray Him, and another would desert Him.
If that wasn’t enough. The people he came to save. Would spit on Him, punch Him, call Him names. You talk about demotion.
He was the Creator of the universe. He moved through the curtain of time and eternity and was born on earth. They ultimately took Him to the cross; they crucified him. WHY?
He did it for you and me. We were filled with vile, deadly sin. The only solution was for Him to take that sin, my sin, and your sin, every one of them. He took that sin, and He became that sin.
Jesus left being equal with God to become sin. Now He is hanging on the cross. He did it for you and me. I can’t get over it; I can’t rush through the holidays, see the trees, and do everything without stopping to say, “Jesus, you are with us.”
I am not alone. Jesus, I thank you!
God is with us, God is with you!