The Lord’s Message:  The Miracle of Christmas:  The Miracle of the Message

The Lord’s Message:  The Miracle of Christmas:  The Miracle of the Message
Date:  December 8, 2024
Where:  Tilghman Methodist Church
Scripture Reference:  Hebrews 1:1-6

            Who said this?  “Four score and seven years ago…”  Abraham Lincoln on November 19, 1863, to a crowd gathered in a small rural town in south central Pennsylvania to dedicate a cemetery to those soldiers from the North and the South that months earlier had bled and died.  The speech would be known as the Gettysburg Address. 

            Who said this?  “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed.  We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.”  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, gave this speech on August 28, 1963, in front of the Lincoln Memorial to push for equal rights for black and brown Americans and all Americans.  The speech would be known as the “I have a dream,” speech. 

            Who said this?  “Yesterday, December 7, 1941-a date which will live in infamy…”  Franklin D. Roosevelt on December 8, 1941, in front of Congress asking for the United States to declare war on Japan.

            Who said this?  “For God so loved the world.”  Jesus said this to Nicodemus in a place on the outskirts of Jerusalem.  This is the greatest Message of all time.  In this Message, Jesus declares the reason for God sending Him to earth to save us. This is recorded by John in his Gospel, John 3:16.  Let us repeat this together.  “For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in Him would not perish, but would have everlasting life.” 

            Last Sunday, we studied the Miracle of Christmas, the Miracle of the Moment.  The birth of Jesus came at the right moment in time, not too early and not too late, but right on time.  This Sunday, we are studying the Miracle of Christmas, the Miracle of the Message. 

            Let us pray. 

In Hebrews 1:1, the writer of Hebrews says, “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways.”  God speaks throughout history.  God spoke to Adam and Eve just like I am speaking to you today.  After the fall of sin, God could no longer be around sin, therefore God used other means to speak to us.  One way was the prophets.  Prophets like Daniel, Isaiah, Elijah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.  There were other ways.  God spoke to Moses out of a burning bush.  Isaiah saw a vision.  Jeremiah watched a potter make a clay pot.   Ezekiel through dry human bones.  God spoke to Daniel and Joseph through dreams.  God used angels to speak to Abraham.  God even used a donkey to speak to Balaam.  Location does not matter.  God spoke in the Garden of Eden, in Haran, in Caanan, in Egypt, in Ur of the Chaldees, in Jerusalem, in Babylon and through out the world.  God will use any means at any place to convey His message of Peace and Love. 

Then silence for 400 years prior to Christ coming.  Malachi was the last recorded prophet of God.  God was speaking, but the people were not getting the message.  They did not understand the heart of God.  They would not believe His plan.  The message was not getting through, or the message got mixed up.  They were persuaded by others to run after other gods and trying to live their lives in complete disobedience to God.  They failed, like everyone of us here that has ever tried to deny the existence of God and to try and live their lives without Him.  God knew this and God still loved them.

Now God has appeared to us and continues to appear to us in all these ways, but when I have a problem, I want to speak to the boss and not to the secretary.  I want to get the message from the boss.   I know today with these large companies it is impossible to speak to the boss.  God must have known what I and others were thinking that He sent Jesus, God in the Flesh, to us.  In verses 2 & 3, the writer of Hebrews says that is what God has done.  He has sent Jesus to be the Message.  I like what the Apostle John has to say about this in John 1:1-5.  Jesus confirms this fact.  In John 14:9-11, Philip asked Jesus to show them the Father.  Jesus replies if you see me, then you see the Father. 

Abraham Lincoln’s speech inspired a nation to think about the soldiers that fought and died in the battles of the civil war.  That is why we have so many dedicated Civil War battle fields as national parks.  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr inspired the nation to confront racism.  Franklin D. Roosevelt inspired a nation to war.  All of these speeches inspired, but only Jesus brings transformation.  The miracle of the message is that it is not just written down or spoken, but the transformation that takes place in a person’s life.  Let me give you two examples of individuals who have been transformed by the Message.

C. S. Lewis was an atheist.  Encouraged by his good friend, J. R. R. Tolkien, he started to read the New Testament in Greek and other classic Christian literature. He meets fellow writer and Scottish pastor George MacDonald; this moved him closer to believe.  Then after his wife Joy Davidman died of cancer, he realized that God had answered his prayers by giving him and his wife more time together.  After this, he accepted Jesus as His Lord and Savior.  He wrote the Chronicles of Narnia which sold millions and million of copies.

 Constantine, the Roman emperor, from 306 to 337 BC became a Christian after a vision he experienced during the Battle of Milvian Bridge in 312 BC.  In Constantine vision, he saw a cross of light in the sky above the sun along with the Greek words, which translate as in this sign, conquer.  Constantine for the very first time in his life got down on his hands and knees and prayed to God before the battle.  After the victory, Constantine gave all the credit to God, and he commanded his soldiers to paint on their shields with the cross of Christ.  Under Constantine’s rule, Christianity became the religion of Rome, two great doctrinal councils were held, the Council of Arles in 314 BC and the Council of Nicaea in 325 BC.  Today we still say the Nicene Creed.  The Nicene Creed speaks of the divine nature of God the Son and His relationship with God the Father.

Still today the Message transforms lives.  In the Middle East, Muslims are coming to Christ.  In East Asia, Buddhists are coming to Christ.  People who are atheists or agonistics are coming to Christ.  Even after almost 2000 years, the Message still brings transformation and will continue until Christ returns. 

The miracle of the Christmas is the miracle of the Message.  It is the celebration of the greatest message ever proclaimed.  That God the creator would choose to be one of us, His creation. God became one of us to establish peace with us, His broken creation.  Paul says in

1 Timothy 2:5-6.  Jesus gave His life as a ransom for all.  The miracle of Message is that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself.  Jesus came so that God could reveal Himself and His plan in a way that we could understand.  Even though today, we still find this plan completely bizarre. 

            In verse 6, God told the angels to worship Jesus.  In Luke 2:8-14, God told the angels not to keep this for themselves, but to proclaim it to the world.  First to lowly shepherds gathered in a field outside of Bethlehem.  The miracle of Christmas is the miracle of the Message: “For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him will have ever lasting life.”  Amen.