Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
Christmas Eve 2022 Message
At Sandals Church, our vision is to be real with ourselves, God and others. This channel features sermons and teaching from Pastor Matt Brown and other members of the Sandals Church preaching team. You can find sermon notes, videos and more content at http://sandalschurch.com/watch
Thanks for tuning in to the Sandals Church podcast. Our vision as a church is to be real with ourselves, God, and others. We're glad you're here, and we hope you enjoy this message.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:Hey, Merry Christmas. Grab a seat, it's for you. Man, I'm so glad you're here. I was thinking about you and I just took some notes, that I wanted to talk to you so much about just about Christmas. Just I've had so many ideas about, things that I'm reminded of at Christmas time.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:Man, I've been doing this for 25 years and, it's just crazy, you know, always getting ready all the things that we have going on and, you know, for me, people fall into 1 of 2 categories. You know, some of us are curious, we're just full of expectation about Christmas and excitement maybe you got little kids, maybe it's your 1st, Christmas engaged or your 1st Christmas married and you're just you're just so excited for the way that it is and some of us we're just kind of callous like we just kind of go through the motions okay here we go again you know it's all about money, it's all about stuff and we kind of lose sight of the at least the religious meaning and especially those of us that are spiritual the spiritual meaning of Christmas. And so you know every single year I do this you know Christmas message and I gotta watch myself and I gotta I gotta maintain just like a curious expectation of God what do you have for me this Christmas? What what is it that you wanna show me? And so here's some of the things that that I thought about as I was thinking about you.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:You see, Christmas reminds me of a couple of things. I don't know what it reminds you but it reminds me that God rewards those who are willing to search for Jesus. The first people that we hear about in the Christmas story are people who started way before anybody even knew that Jesus was born. These were wise men from the east, not Christian, not Jewish. These are spiritual seekers looking up at the stars, looking up at the heavens saying, God are you doing something?
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:And I just would challenge you, no matter how many Christmases this is for you, whether it's a good Christmas or a tough Christmas, would you just be curious? God, what is it that you wanna show me? What is it that you wanna reveal to me this Christmas? Because if wise men were searching for him, shouldn't I be looking for something? And again, some of you say, well, I know Christmas, I know it frontwards and backwards.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:But I can tell you, I've preached on it 25 times, and every single year I'm surprised at some of the hidden gems that I find that I missed. Some of you man, you're just, you're not, you're not in the Christmas spirit at all, you're just caught up in the political chaos. And I just want you to know, that's one of the things that I noticed this year as I looked at Christmas, and I looked at Christmas Eve, that I'd never noticed before. You know that God does some of His best work in political chaos? The whole Christmas story is pregnant, not just with the coming Jesus, but of political chaos.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:When the wise men show up in Jerusalem, nobody's excited that there's a king born to the Jews. There is a king in Jerusalem and his name is Herod, he's not excited at all. But the bible says all of Jerusalem was in a panic. Nobody wanted this young Jesus, nobody was excited about this Jesus. And here's the thing that's so sad if you're religious, they had to call the scribes to remind them where this Jesus was supposed to be born.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:You see you can call yourself a Christian, you can call yourself religious and still miss the whole reason for the season. They didn't even know that he was supposed to be born in Bethlehem. But they reminded them hey, he's gonna be born in Bethlehem and King Herod said, yeah, yeah, you go worship him and once you find him tell me where he is. And so the gospel says, the gospel of Luke says that it was a census that actually brought Jesus to Bethlehem. He's he's not from Bethlehem, he's from Nazareth and he's gotta go 90 miles on the back of a donkey with his 9 month pregnant mom, Mary, and here's why.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:The political sentence is just is not just because they wanted to count people so that, you know, because you matter right, no it's like the IRS, they want to know, you know, who you are so they can tax you, it's the same same reason for the Romans, they wanted to count all the people so they could make sure their revenue stream was accurate. And so this is a political hack job, they wanna just know how many Jews are there in Palestine so that we can make sure we're getting the appropriate revenue. But isn't it interesting, some of you you're so caught up in politics and you need to realize this, God is still moving in the midst of politics. And as crazy as our politicians are, as whacked out as they tend to be, as ridiculous as some of their plans and beliefs are to me and to you, you gotta know this, God is still weaving His story in the midst of their insanity and their craziness. So Caesar says, we're gonna count all the Jews and God moves Jesus from Nazareth all the way to Bethlehem exactly where He said He would be born in Hosea chapter 11 verse 1.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:God knew exactly where Jesus was gonna be born and he was moving crazy politicians that you can't stand to get them into the positions so he could do something amazing in your life and mine. The next thing is you say, well, but it it wasn't like today, today's, you know, it is crazier, today's more dangerous. Well, the gospel of Matthew says this that Herod put out a political hit job on Jesus. Think about that, he didn't celebrate the birth of Jesus he tried to kill Jesus, he tried to assassinate Jesus in Bethlehem. And so here again, we have a crazy evil politician doing their best to thwart the counsel of God.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:And what happens? God's will comes to pass. When Herod tries to murder the baby Jesus, Joseph unwillingly, unknowingly fulfills scripture and puts him in Egypt because the Bible says it will be out of Egypt that I call my son. So let me just say this, I don't know what's happened to you, I don't know where you've been this last year but I know a lot of us have been moved from where we were very comfortable to where we're not. We're aggravated and frustrated with the political climate, some of you are not even looking forward to meeting family members that you disagree passionately with about the direction of our country or the world.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:But maybe what you need to remember in this Christmas is that in spite of all the politics God is still moving. It doesn't matter why politicians do what they do, it won't stop God from doing what he wants to do in your life and mine. And here's the thing, it's never fun when we feel played with or we feel messed with. I'm sure Joseph wasn't excited right? About the fact that he had to take Mary on this 90 mile hike with a donkey and a pregnant woman, mostly uphill from Nazareth to Bethlehem, in very very dangerous circumstances.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:But he had to do this, listen to this, so he could be in the exact place that God had called him to be. So quit looking at the politicians and say God, where do you have me in all this? The next thing I noticed this year that was a little different from years past is that God directs the lives of those who listen. Some of you, you're not curious, your heart is callous, you don't even care. Maybe you don't even wanna be here.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:But here's the thing, God wants you to be here. And that's why we created this place for you, that seat for you. Because God loves you, even when you don't acknowledge Him, even when you don't seek Him, He seeks you because He loves you. So when I look at the story, God is directing and And I wanna speak specifically to so many young people. One of the things that breaks my heart in our culture today is so many young people are walking away from God's story for your life.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:And I get it, religious people are fake and sometimes the things we do it feels old fashioned, it doesn't make any sense. Sometimes religious leaders unfortunately are downright evil. They're as bad or worse than politicians, but that doesn't mean Christmas isn't real and that doesn't mean that God doesn't have a place for you in his story. So if you're a young person I want you to listen to me real carefully and then if you're old I'll get to you in a second. But Christmas starts with 2 teenagers, Joseph and Mary.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:Just trying to figure it out. I tell my kids all the time my kids are, rounding out their teenage years my son turns 20 in just a few days and my daughters in their early 20s. And see when you're young you think this man when I'm in my 20s I'm gonna do whatever I want I'm gonna go wherever I want And listen to me if you're young, your twenties I think is your hardest decade. And it's the scariest decade because it determines how you're gonna spend the rest of your decades on earth. But here's the thing I want you to know, Joseph and Mary as difficult as what God asked them to do was, they did it.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:They did it. Joseph had plans, Mary had plans and none of them involved getting pregnant before they had come together sexually as a couple. It just didn't include that and yet that was their part in God's story. And one of my favorite lines after the angel repeatedly tells Mary, do not be afraid, this is of God, don't be afraid. This has been planned for literally before the foundations of the world.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:He says to Mary, have confidence and trust and here's what she says, she says, as the Lord wishes and she does whatever God wants. And that's what I would challenge you, what would your life look like? What would your Christmas story be like? Instead of worrying about what you're doing and asking this question, God what are you doing in my life? Where are you directing me?
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:Where are you leading me? Because here's what we know from that first Christmas, Joseph and Mary were directed in a in an area they had no intention of going. And that's the one of the things I wanna tell you especially if you're young, your desires are usually in the opposite direction of God's call for your life. Now if you're old, say, okay, how do I know if I'm old? If you ask yourself, am I old?
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:Then that's you. There are 2 other people that I feel like we don't talk enough about about Christmas but they play incredibly important roles in the birth of Christ. An old guy, his name is Simeon. Literally, this is what it says in Luke 2:25. Now there was a man in Jerusalem, he has no title, he has no rank, he's not a priest, he's not a scribe, he's not a minister of any sort.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:Listen to me, he's just some ordinary guy. And the description of him is he's old, he's just an old guy but he was righteous and devout. You see, he had spent his life following God, listening to God, waiting for God. And here's the thing if you're old, man turn off that news channel that you're addicted to and start listening to God's channel because he wants to use you. He wants to do something special in your life.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:It says the Holy Spirit was upon him and it had been revealed to him that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And lo and behold, Mary and Joseph just like a Jewish family is supposed to brought Jesus into the temple on this 8th day and they're Simeon. And he prophesies over baby Jesus because He has a part to play in the greatest story ever told. And some of you this Christmas, you're sad. This is your 1st Christmas alone, maybe you lost a spouse, maybe you lost a good friend.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:There's a beautiful amazing woman and her name is Anna and she was a widow. And here's the thing, we don't know if she was 84 years old or if she had been a widow for 84 years. It's really, really hard in the Greek language to tell which way the sentence is supposed to go. Either way she was old and she had been alone for a long, long time. But listen to what it says, it said that God had spoke to her that she was gonna prophecy specifically and she got to see Jesus and she prophesied and she told Mary and Joseph the amazing things that God was gonna do through their son.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:You see we all have a part to play. You know for many of us, if we're young, it's making those decisions now to follow God so that we can be blessed by God for the rest of our lives. And for those of us who are older, this is what Christmas is all about, not getting bitter, angry, upset. God's will for your life is not that you become a grumpy old man or woman, God's will for your life is that you would be joyous and that Christmas would remind you That no matter what's happening in the world, no matter how kids are these days, that God is still moving and He's still weaving His story through us. And I know these last couple years have been hard.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:And here's what I've told myself on the toughest and darkest days, God must know something about me that I don't know about myself to believe that I can live and lead through these times. And so I'll tell you the same thing, God must know something about you that you don't know about yourself. That He's called you to live and to lead in these times. These times are not easy but our God is stronger than these times. And he worked through the the political insanity of the past, and listen to me, he's working powerfully in the present, and he wants to work through you, and he wants to work through me.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:The next thing I love about the story of Christmas is so much of our world is all about the famous and the uber rich and the uber powerful and none of those people are involved in that first story. There was nobody uber rich in Bethlehem, there was nobody uber powerful. The King Herod of Jerusalem, he wasn't even exactly sure where Bethlehem was, was. The truth is all the scribes, all the teachers, all the professors of that day, they had completely forgotten about Bethlehem. They had to be reminded as they went back to their history books to say oh, that's where it was, Bethlehem, the town of David.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:But here's the thing, there were these shepherds out watching their flocks by night. I know whenever I think about that the first thing I think about is the Charlie Brown Christmas special. But what makes the Charlie Brown Christmas special so special is that they just read scripture. They just read it and tell us, man, this is what God was doing. And it just brings me comfort to know that God could have announced the birth of his son to kings, to queens, to the uber rich, to influencers, but God didn't announce Jesus to people with a platform, but to those without one.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:Man, what if this Christmas, instead of trying to have influence, what if you started letting the Holy Spirit influence your life? Because that's what God wants to do. So Luke 28 to 11, and this is probably my favorite part of the Christmas story. It says in that same region, there were shepherds out in the field keeping watch over their flock by night. And the angel of the lord appeared to them and the glory of the lord shown around them.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:And they were feel they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, fear not for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a savior who is Christ the Lord. You know, a couple years ago I wrote a book called You and Christians lost their minds. It's what we love to do because sometimes as Christians we forget that you and I have a purpose.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:Sometimes, we make it all about God, it's all about God. And so my question for you this Christmas is, what's God all about? The answer is not himself. The answer is you. He loves you.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:He cares for you. He sent his son to be born, to live a life, to suffer and die for you. You see God did all of this, all of this to be with you and to be with me. You see as Christians we worship a relational God, we use the word Trinity but it's tri unity. It simply describes the relational nature of the God that we worship.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:You see the reason God when he defines himself as the God of love is, you cannot have love if you're all alone. If you grew up on an island without anybody, you would not know what love is because to know what love is you have to relate to someone you love and that's who God is. Eternally father, son, and holy spirit. A perfect relationship of love forever. And God made you and He made me so that we could be loved by Him and experience that love.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:But here's the problem, we're separated from that love. Not because of what God did but because of what we do. We sin and we break God's laws. And the truth is I don't even live up to my own laws much less God's loss. And so God sent his one and only son to die on the cross for you.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:But before he died he lived just like you, just like me. That means as a young boy he got splinters in his toes. He had to be comforted by his mom when he cried. He had to learn to walk, he had to learn to talk. He had to learn to live, he had to learn to lose.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:We know at the end of his life, Joseph is not around. We don't know what happened but we know he died. He was gone. Jesus was betrayed by some of his best friends with a kiss. Jesus knows what it's like to be lied to, gossiped about, Jesus knows what it's like to hurt.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:Jesus knows what it's like to be human. Jesus knows everything about you and everything about me. That's why when He came to earth He wasn't born in a hotel but a barn. He wasn't laid in a beautiful crib but in a feeding trough. You see that, think about that parents laying your baby in a place where animals eat.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:That's where the king of kings and Lord of lords spent his first night. He didn't come to experience world treatment. He came so that one day you and I could experience world treatment. But in order for us to be like Him, He had to be like us. And so that's what Christmas is all about.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:Matthew 123 says, and behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel. It's a Hebrew name and it simply means God with us. God with you and God with me. Man, you would completely miss the beauty of Christmas if you don't have God with you and that's why Jesus came. But here's the thing you need to know about our God, our God of love.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:Paul says this in first Corinthians that love never demands its own way. God will never force you to believe, God will never force himself into your life. God only relates though to those who invite him in. And so here's how you invite him in, you just you just simply say the truth, God, I'm a sinner and I wanna be saved. Thank you for sending your beautiful amazing son to die for me on the cross.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:And here's the thing, no matter how you say that prayer, no matter how you watch that prayer, no matter what words come out of your mouth, if the intent of your heart is to invite him in, he'll come in. And so I just wanna invite you right now to bow your heads and close your eyes whether you're at one of our campuses or you're watching from home. Don't miss the gift of Christmas. It's a beautiful gift and his name is Jesus. But you only experience this power if you open it.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:And to open it, you have to open your heart and invite him in. Would you close your eyes and pray with me? Heavenly father, thank you for sending your son to live. Lord, all the difficulties of life, but to live it perfectly. Thank you for loving us enough to come.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:Lord, I pray for every single person right now that they would just open their hearts to you and that they would experience the mystery and the beauty of Christmas, and they would invite your son into their homes and into their lives and into their hearts. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.
Morgan Teruel:Thanks for listening to the Sandals Church podcast. Our vision here is to be real with ourselves, God, and others. At Sandals Church, we wanna see a movement of authenticity take place all over the world, and donating to the work of Sandals Church helps make that happen. If you wanna support this movement here at Sandals Church, I wanna invite you to visit donate.sc. Thanks again for listening, and God bless.