Services/Sermon in Cokato 25.12.2018

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, let us unite our hearts in opening prayer and thanksgiving.

Our dear Heavenly Father, as we approach you on this Christmas Day night, we thank you, dear Father, that you once again led us there to the place of the manger where we, in our little home congregations, were able to rest and ponder the miracle that thou hast blessed unto mankind.

Dear Father, we cannot begin to thank thee and praise thee enough. Indeed, we are so small before you, and we are so incapable of ourselves, and we are such sinners with so little understanding and completely lacking. And yet, thou hast granted unto us the greatest Christmas gift: the birth of thy Son, and with it, thou hast granted unto us this begun faith.

We ask this evening, dear Father, simply to preserve us here in the place of a child, that we would not leave from thy beloved Son, and that we would come again and again onto the manger, unto the feet of thy beloved Son, to hear and to listen to what thou hast to say unto us. Even as we've been able to do here this evening.

Gather here, around that warm, consuming fire of thine. We simply ask even now, dear Father, that wherever thy word is spoken this evening, open thy word unto us, feed and nourish us, and grant unto that which thou sees that we need.

And we include our prayer in this that thy Son has taught us. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who have trespassed against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.

Amen.

And so here we are, once again, on Christmas night. And I have to say that this Christmas season has been uplifting and comforting for me. It seems that we've paused around this festive celebration of Christmas again and again and again.

At our Christmas celebration and sale that we had, we were able to hear. We have heard again and again at these services of Christmas. And even our Bible classes this month have been around the theme of Christmas.

And yet there is so much to learn and to hear that indeed this evening also, let us go up to Bethlehem, approach that lowly stable, and gather around this baby Jesus.

And so I'm going to read a few verses from the Christmas text. Second chapter of Luke, verses 7 through 12. And these words are in Jesus' name as follows:

"And she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them. And they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you. Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger." Amen.

First of all, I certainly from the bottom of my heart and our hearts wish to thank you for especially remembering us in your thoughts and in your prayers. But it has been so nice and comforting to receive and to read your cards and gifts that thou hast given unto us. And for this, we thank you.

It feels good to be remembered. It feels good to be carried by the children of God. And it feels good that you place me in the midst and in the center of the flock. We are a level-headed flock. And we need one another. And you especially, during these times that we've been living, have remembered me. And thank you.

Above all, we thank our Heavenly Father that He's granted such hearts unto us. Hearts to uplift. Hearts to comfort. Hearts to instruct. Hearts to carry. And so on.

Of course, Christmas is a very joyous time of year. Every one of us were children at one time. We remember the joy of a child at Christmas time. And we see it around us today. Doesn't matter how old we are. And we feel it in our own hearts. The joy of Christmas.

And yet, I have to say, dear brothers and sisters, we are such a blessed flock that every day is Christmas unto us.

"And she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn."

You know, in the beginning of the gospel, according to John, he writes, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not."

That is what happened on that first Christmas night. Nothing has changed.

We've heard the reason for this lowly birth of Jesus. Our brothers have related unto us. Our sisters have related unto you children in Sunday school. And you've been told at home, I'm sure.

Jesus was born in such a lowly place. His first bed was a manger, possibly with coarse hay for bedding. But the Bible says he was wrapped in swaddling clothes. Those clothes, swaddling clothes, are a picture of God's word.

God in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God. And now, God came down to earth in the second person, in His Son. Came in such a lowly fashion. The threshold is so low to God's kingdom that even the poorest and the most wretched can find their way with the help of God here into God's kingdom.

Where is Jesus found today? You boys and girls, where do you think Jesus is found? Where is He this evening? He's in your hearts. He's in the hearts of the lowly children of God.

In the 30th song, we sing about that: "If only in the manger of my afflicted heart, by grace the baby Jesus would dwell and ne'er depart."

That is where Jesus is found today.

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night."

You know, in these few verses of this partial Christmas gospel, there's a picture of our entire life in these few words.

Jesus was born for you and me and the entire world. It was just a normal, normal night for the shepherds. The sheep and the lambs were there and huddled together for the night. Shepherds were warming themselves around the fires. They had eaten their supper, settling in for the night.

It's a picture of our lives. We are in the world, but not of the world. We're living in a darkened world. It was dark then too. And literally, that night was dark. But the world was dark.

And into this darkness of the night, all of a sudden, there appeared, as it says in that ninth verse, "And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them."

This incredible light came into their midst and lightened the night, the darkness of the night away.

And it says, "And they were sore afraid."

You know, those were believing shepherds. They had believing families. They had believing spouses. Believing children. And they were frightened. But that's not unusual. It happens to us today in the same way.

Those shepherds, they were the same as you and I. They felt temptation and they fell into sin.

What happens to you when you fall into sin? There's fear in our heart. And especially when the glory of the Lord shines, the Holy Spirit shines on that sin, on our life. There's fear.

There's fear in this sin-corrupt flesh. And there's a need to put sin away. And the voice of the Spirit within us speaks to us and instructs us and reminds us.

But the Bible says that we don't live in a spirit of fear. We don't. Goodness, no. But sin brings fear into our life. Sin brings sorrow. Sin brings distress. Sin brings, well, you know what it brings. And I know what it brings.

Sin brings to us.

And they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, "Fear not, for I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all the people."

Look around you. Here in God's kingdom are a multitude of angels. Angels of the heavenly Father. They dwell here in God's kingdom.

But how do you feel when you look at yourself? Do you feel like an angel? No, we do not. We feel our sin corruption.

But through the eyes of living faith, the eyes of a child, when we look around us, we see beautiful angels of God. And that is healthy.

We see the beauty of God's kingdom. We see the beauty of God's kingdom. We see the beauty of God's kingdom.

With the eyes of living faith, with the eyes of a little child, we look around in God's kingdom and we just see the beauty. All we see around us are angels. Angels that God has placed here. Has granted unto them the light of the Holy Spirit. The heart of a child of God. God and the will and the desire to endeavor to be obedient. Every one of us has that.

And yet we live in this temporal life. We are in the world, but not of the world. And so we feel daily, as these shepherds did, the onslaught of this threefold enemy. They felt it even there.

"And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid."

But the message of the angel was a glorious message. It was a message of joy and life and living hope.

Well, it's the same message we receive today from these angels here in God's kingdom.

When they approach us, and especially when we've fallen and they've known that we've fallen and they very timidly come and approach us, God sends them on to us to speak to us, to help us.

And what is the message? Fear not! For behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people.

God is the message of the gospel. Son, daughter, thy sins are forgiven unto thee in Jesus' name and precious blood.

And this message brings joy into our life.

The psalmist pleaded with God, "Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation."

Why? Because sin had overcome in his life. He had unforgiven sin. He was pleading to God to send his angel unto me.

Nothing has changed. It's the same today. And God sends his angels unto us with that glad message, that tiding of great joy. Your sins are forgiven.

That's the Christmas message in all simplicity.

Hear this now. This is that glorious message of God, that he sent his Son here to suffer and die on our behalf. And that God now looks at us through the prism of his Son, whom we have faith and trust in, whom we approach on again and again to plead for forgiveness.

And he always sends his angels here to us. And he speaks unto us through the Holy Spirit: "Thy sins are forgiven unto thee."

It's not a temporal message, although it's related through the clay lips of man, but it's a message directly from our heavenly Father unto us, us great sinners.

Fear not. No, fear not.

And that's why I say, my beloved brothers and sisters, you youth and children, it is Christmas day every day of our life.

Every day we hear the same glorious message of the angel: "Fear not, for behold, I bring you glad tidings of great joy. Your sins are forgiven in Jesus' name and precious blood."

Isn't that a glorious message? The message of Christmas? Yes. It's a message of life. It's a message of living hope. It restores unto us that anchor of hope.

The writer under the Hebrews, he writes of this anchor, this anchor of our undying soul, this anchor of hope that we have, this anchor which is anchored into heaven.

And we have this lifeline that comes into our heart and into our soul. It's a living hope.

And he says in the sixth chapter of Hebrews, the 19th verse, "Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil."

This is that anchor in faith and hope and the promises of God's word that we have. We're attached to the shores of heaven. We have a living hope.

And when we remain attached to this living hope, we will never drift astray from the way and endeavor of living faith. We won't be drawn into the currents of the time. No.

It's a living, it's an anchor of living hope that we have.

The Bible testifies unto us we have that.

Stand firm in the truth and in the grace of this Christ child. Don't begin to go to and fro.

And yet, isn't that how it's been? That we've been, as an elder who once told me, we're like in this ship, and this ship goes to the left, and it goes to the right, and yet, we endeavor to believe and to put our sins away, and yet, we're led in the correct way.

Even though we ourselves are so poor and wretched, we have so little understanding, and yet, that anchor that we have in the shores of heaven will lead us without fail.

"And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid."

Yeah, just for that, just for that moment.

And the angel said unto them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord."

This is how it's written. It's written that unto you, unto you, it's a very personal message unto every one of us, that "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord."

That is how personal living faith is. He came for you.

And yet, as we read into this Christmas text, you know, where we see the heart of the shepherd, the shepherds, those lowly children of God.

When God revealed this message unto them of this first Christmas, the Bible says, "And they came with haste."

They didn't let their mind and reason and own understanding overtake them. They came with haste.

May God preserve in your heart this same desire to come unto the hearing of God's word. May He always keep in you a hunger and a thirst of God's word, the hearing of God's word.

Need again and again and again to come to the place of the manger, to the feet of Jesus, where God through the Holy Spirit guides and directs us, speaks unto us, teaches us, for we are, as the apostle has said, we are as empty, leaking vessels.

We are in continual need of the gospel.

What did Jesus teach? "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and its righteousness, and all else shall be added unto you."

Leave all your sins and doubts forgiven in Jesus' name and precious blood.

This is the beginning point when we awake in the morning.

And isn't it nice to go to sleep at night under the message of the gospel? Your sins and doubts are forgiven in Jesus' name and precious blood.

And to awake in the morning and as Jesus reminds us, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and its righteousness."

That there is joy in our heart and that there is peace in our heart.

That we won't allow Satan to come into our lives so that when we awake, or even before we awake, when we go to bed at night.

And there is bitterness in our heart. Bitterness is as a cancer. It grows and grows.

And not only it grows in our heart, but if this bitterness remains with us, it spreads onto others. And others receive this cancer of bitterness, mistrust.

That is why the Bible reminds us we live of the gospel. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation unto all who believe.

We are in continual need of this.

And when they left that place of the manger, they left glorifying and praising and thanking God.

Why? Why? Their sins were forgiven.

Jesus came to save mankind from sin. He himself said, "I came not to judge, but I came to save mankind."

But he goes on to record or to say, "But on the last day you will be judged what you have done, what you have said, and what you have thought."

But what is the judgment of God unto his own? What is the judgment of God?

The psalm writer records in that 103rd psalm so beautifully of that judgment and righteousness of God unto us, his children.

"Thy sins are forgiven unto thee."

This is the judgment of God unto his children that are living here today.

And we as children of God desire to believe that message of Christmas, that indeed, and to trust upon his word and upon that grace and mercy and forgiveness, that my sins indeed are forgiven through the power of that gospel that is preached only here in God's kingdom.

Oh, yes, there have been those who have separated away from the living kingdom of God throughout the ages. They have used the same words in that darkness where into they went.

It's a dead word. It's not a living word. It doesn't have the power of the Holy Spirit no longer.

And then just briefly, Matthew records unto us then, at some point then, during this Christmas season, there were those, as it says here, those wise men from the east that were approaching Jerusalem.

They were following a star.

What was this bright star that they were following? It was God's word, the light of the Holy Spirit. They were following that.

God had revealed unto them that they needed to follow that word.

God.

It's the same with us today. We need to abide God's word through the light of the Holy Spirit.

And we will find eternal Christmas. We will find Jesus, the King of Kings, when we endeavor to do this.

Jerusalem, the lights of the city at night, and I like to think that they, well, they lost their way. Maybe their own understanding, they came with their own understanding that of course the King of Kings would be born in Jerusalem.

Where else would a king be born? And yet they went there.

And the city slept. They didn't know.

So it is in darkness. One sleeps. Satan gives sleeping medicine to those in unbelief.

Often.

They have this false sense of peace and security.

And Satan is like, "Shh, don't wake them up. They're mine. They're at peace."

Perhaps through their merits, own merit, their own work, perhaps through their own understanding, their own wisdom. I don't know.

But Satan has them.

And but then they left Jerusalem.

And they saw that star again.

And you know what the Bible said, says, "And when they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy."

Glory.

This is what God's word brings onto us.

It causes this cold and empty heart to begin to rejoice.

Even the hearts of stone, it melts into a heart of a child.

When one listens and one hears and believes God's word through the Holy Spirit.

That is what God is able to do.

And so it was the star that led these wise men, as the Bible says, to the place of the stable, to Jesus.

It was faith, living faith, that caused them to bow down there at that manger before Jesus.

God's love.

And may God always keep us in that place of a child, that we have trust upon the Lord Jesus, his undying word, and his children here in God's kingdom.

Where would you be, I ask you, my beloved brothers and sisters, brothers, if you would not trust the children of God?

It would be a very miserable place to be, and a very deadly place, if Satan has led you to that point where you don't trust the children of God.

God's God's word, and yet we desire to trust upon God's word, and we trust one another.

To me, you are angels of heaven, here upon the earth.

God has placed you here to help me to get to heaven, and it is the same way with you.

We need to trust upon God's word. We need to trust upon the message that his angels bring on to us.

We have sensitive ears, ears of lambs, and we hear the voice of the good shepherd, word, and it's a beautiful voice.

It's such a comforting voice. It's an uplifting voice, and it's always calling, "Come this way. There is grace, and there is mercy, and there is forgiveness."

It's a gentle voice. The Bible says it's a still, small voice.

This voice of the Holy Spirit that speaks in God's kingdom.

God's name, and this Christmas night, this is our prayer, that God would preserve us in a place of a little lamb with sensitive ears, to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit that speaks here, and that we would never begin to be led astray by someone who is in sheep's clothing, who appears like a child of God, indeed, who often has beautiful words, love.

And so we desire to be even as these shepherds and these wise men who sought, sought, and found, and remained with Jesus.

May God preserve us in this place.

And those wise men, how they brought those gifts unto the Lord Jesus.

So we also, God has given every one of us gifts, and we have a desire to place them here on the table, so that we can help one another with these gifts that God has given us.

I suppose that's where this tradition of giving gifts at Christmas possibly came from.

The wise men brought them, and all the children of God, those former saints that have come before us and have left to heaven, they all brought their gifts to the Lord Jesus, to be used here in His kingdom.

We have such a such reason to rejoice and thank God.

God's glory and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen as it was told unto them.

So we also praise and thank God for His wonderful mercy that He has granted unto us, for His gracious word that He again and again speaks unto us, through the clay lips of man, but through the living Holy Spirit.

And so we endeavor to believe, and even this Christmas, may this joy of this Christ child fill your heart and give power and strength through the gospel that your sins and doubts are forgiven in Jesus' name, to go on to endeavor battling that threefold enemy which is not quiet.

And He is with us every day.

And may God grant you that heart of a child that when you go to bed at night, you can go with peace and joy every night.

For dear brothers and sisters, one day will be the last time that we go to sleep.

And the joy of Christmas, this message of Christmas will lead us to eternal Christmas in heaven.

Heaven.

But I have to say for myself, although I've had much joy and even this Christmas time there has been such joy, my heart has rejoiced and yet Satan has tormented.

Doubt has come and sin has come and I believe my sins and doubts forgiven.

I desire to believe with you.

We are great sinners, but we are pardoned sinners.

And one day we will open our eyes for eternal Christmas.

In Jesus' name, Amen.

The Lord bless us and keep us.

The Lord make his face shine upon us and be gracious unto us.

The Lord lift up his kindness upon us and give us peace.

In the name of the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, Amen.