Jeff Schreve - The Divine Rescue
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At Christmas time, you’ll often hear the phrase, «Jesus is the reason for the season,» but do you really understand what that means? I’m Pastor Jeff Schreve, and today I’m gonna share three discoveries concerning the real meaning of Christmas and «The Divine Rescue» we find in the Lord Jesus.
We’re in a series for Christmas called «The Thrill of Hope,» and today we wanna talk about «The Divine Rescue,» God sending his Son, which is, «Good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people». It brings hope to our hearts, and listen, no matter what may be going on in your life today, no matter the difficulties you’re facing today, trials and troubles and problems, everybody’s got problems, some are huge, some are medium size, some are small, but we all have problems. Hey, if you’ll get your eyes off your troubles and put your eyes on Jesus, he will fill your heart with hope.
You know, we talk a lot about the true meaning of Christmas, what is it all about? Hey, I love Christmas, I love the sights and the sounds and the smells and the food and the fellowship and the gifts, who doesn’t love all those things? But the true meaning of Christmas, sometimes we can say it, «Jesus is the reason for the season,» but do we really understand what that means, do we really understand that Christmas is the divine rescue? Matthew chapter 1, he shares the Christmas story this way. «Now the birth of Jesus Christ,» verse 18, «Was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, desired to put her away secretly,» to divorce her secretly. They weren’t married, but they were betrothed, and a betrothal was like a marriage, in that you couldn’t break it without a divorce.
Verse 20, «But when he had considered this,» putting her away secretly, «Behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, 'Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for that which has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins.' Now all this took place that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet,» the prophet Isaiah, «Might be fulfilled, saying, 'BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD, AND SHALL BEAR A SON AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL, ' which translated means, 'GOD WITH US.' And Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took her as his wife, and kept her a virgin,» was not knowing her, «Until she gave birth to a Son; and he called his name Jesus».
The name Jesus means Yahweh saves. Do you understand the real meaning, the true meaning of Christmas? Three discoveries for this morning concerning the real meaning of Christmas. Discovery number one, the real meaning of Christmas is hard to fathom, it’s hard to comprehend the real meaning of Christmas. Now, Mary and Joseph are betrothed, the betrothal period usually lasted a year and it was typically an arranged marriage, the parents would arrange the marriage. The girl would be anywhere from as young as 12 to maybe 14, 15 years old, Mary was young when the angel came to her. And they would have a ceremony where they would be betrothed and then the man would prepare a place for them to live, and then would come get her and they would have a big celebration, a big wedding and a big wedding feast. That’s how it worked.
Well, they were in the betrothal phase. In the betrothal phase there is no consummating of the relationship, that was saved until after the marriage, after the marriage ceremony. And so Joseph is excited, he is engaged to Mary and they’re going to be married before too long. And man, it is exciting, but then he hears the news, I guess Mary told him, it doesn’t really say, but he gets the word that Mary is pregnant and excitement turns to anguish. I mean, Joseph knew, «Hey, this isn’t my baby, I haven’t done anything with you, this is not my child, but you’re pregnant». And so he says, «I have a choice here, I can disgrace her publicly and say, 'This is an adulterous woman, this is a woman who’s immoral.'»
And you remember they brought the adulterous woman to Jesus in John chapter 8, and said, «Moses told us to stone such a woman, what do you say»? And a public disgrace from the Old Testament law would have been stoning. Now, that probably didn’t happen, we don’t have any records of them doing that, but that’s what they could have said, «The law of Moses, that’s what we’re supposed to do». So, he said, «I could do it publicly or I could put her away privately and divorce her, and get some witnesses and divorce her, and say, 'No way is she gonna be my wife, not this woman who can’t be trusted, she’s immoral.'» Or he could marry her. And if the baby had been his, that’s probably what would have just been the natural thing to do, «Ah, we messed up and we need to make this right before God and before our families, we need to be married».
Well, that would have been the natural thing to do, but he knew, «That’s not my child». So he’s contemplating, «I don’t wanna publicly disgrace her, I don’t wanna marry her, I just can’t, she’s just shattered my heart, so I guess I’ll put her away secretly». And while he’s contemplating that, he falls asleep and has a dream, and the angel tells him, «Don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for that which has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit». «'THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY’LL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL, ' which translated means, 'GOD WITH US.'»
That’s what Matthew brings in from the book of Isaiah, written 725 years before this time. That’s pretty amazing. Well, here’s the thing, the virgin birth is hard to fathom, it was hard for Joseph to fathom, it was hard for him to believe. Hey, it was hard for Mary to fathom, it was hard for Mary to believe. And so, when we talk about the real meaning of Christmas, that a virgin shall be with child, well, it’s hard to comprehend that. This is what the scripture says in Luke chapter 1 when the angel Gabriel visits Mary. «And the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.'» Yahweh saves.
«He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of his father David,» he’s the Messiah, «'And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and His kingdom will have no end.' And Mary said to the angel, 'How can this be, since I am a virgin? '» I have never known a man, how am I gonna have the Christ child when I am a virgin? She didn’t understand, «The virgin shall be with child,» Joseph didn’t understand, «The virgin shall be with child».
The angel goes on to say, «And the angel answered and said to her, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God. And behold, even your relative Elizabeth who has conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren and sterile is now in her sixth months. For nothing will be impossible with God.'» «Mary, it’s gonna be a miracle, 'And the power of God is going to overshadow you, and for that reason the offspring is going to be a holy offspring, the Son of God.'»
It was the power of the Most High that came upon Mary and Jesus was born of a virgin. He is the Son of David because both Mary and Joseph were of the house of David, he’s the Son of David but he is the Son of God, and the only way he could be the Son of God was to be born of a virgin. And as far as the gospel goes, the gospel presentation, you say, «Well, it doesn’t have no gospel tract, the four spiritual laws, or any of the Billy Graham steps to peace with God, or any of those». They don’t talk about the virgin birth, what they do talk about is the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that is the issue. Who is Jesus, is he just an exalted man, is he just a great teacher, or is he God in the flesh? Well, the answer is, he is God in the flesh, he is the God man, the son of Mary and the Son of God. He is the great I am, and he’s also the son of Mary, he is both the Son of David and the Son of God.
And the Bible says, in 1 Timothy 3:16, «And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness; God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among nations, believed on in the world, and received up into glory». «Without controversy,» that means by consent of all, this idea of godliness, «Great is the mystery,» that God would be revealed in the flesh. It is mind blowing that this baby, as the song says, «When you’ve kissed your little baby, you’ve kissed the face of God». I love how Adrian Rogers puts it, he says you see Jesus just as a little toddler learning how to walk, and he’s just going back and forth, and falling into his mother’s arms. He says, «Who is that little baby learning how to walk»?
That’s the great God of the universe who spoke the worlds into existence. You see him as a seven-year-old boy playing in Joseph’s carpenter shop, playing with the shavings, making little shapes with the shavings. «Who is that little boy playing in the carpenter shop»? That’s the great God of the universe, who, in Genesis chapter 2, reached down and, «Formed man from the dust of the earth, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul». That’s who that is. You see him on the cross, as he’s dying upon the cross, and he says, «I thirst». «Who is this one thirsting on the cross»? It’s the great God of the universe who made every drop of water, who causes every river to flow and run, that’s who it is. And how do you put that together, how do you comprehend that? Great is the mystery of godliness, God was manifested, was revealed in the flesh.
So the real meaning of Christmas, the virgin shall be with child, and this child shall be God in the flesh. It is hard to comprehend, it is hard to fathom. So we say, «Lord, I don’t understand it, but I believe it». Second discovery, the real meaning of Christmas, not only is it hard to fathom, it is hard to accept. Many, many people have a hard time accepting Jesus as Savior. «You shall call his name Jesus,» the angel told Joseph, «For it is He who will save His people from their sins». «Good news of a great joy,» the angel said to the shepherds, «For today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord».
Now the Apostle Paul said this, in 1 Timothy 1:15, «It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all». He came to save sinners, «Call His name Jesus,» he always saves, because, «It is He who will save His people from their sins». Now, in our world today, people get really mad when you call them sinners, but they just get so, «How? You’re calling me a sinner? How dare you call me a sinner, you say you love me and yet you call me a sinner»? Well, that’s what God says, but not just a sinner, God says all of us are helpless, hopeless sinners, not just sinners, helpless sinners, hopeless sinners.
Now, here’s what the Bible says, Romans chapter 3, «There is none righteous, not even one». Romans 3:10. «Not even one». It says that, «All have sinned,» Romans 3:23, «And fall short of the glory of God». All, A-L-L. I don’t have any problem telling somebody, «Hey, you’re a sinner». «But how dare you»? Well, I’m just telling you what God says. And now, if you don’t want to accept the fact that you’re a sinner, then here’s the sobering news for you, Jesus only came for sinners. Jesus said, «I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance». So, if you don’t think you’re a sinner, the Lord has nothing for you. And hey, it gets worse, not only are we hopeless, helpless sinners, we’re destined for hell without the Savior.
So, «All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,» Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23 says, «The wages of sin is death,» not just in the body, but death, separation from God forever and ever and ever. John 3:16, the gospel in a nutshell, «For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life». And we’re in desperate need of divine rescue, that’s the only way we’re gonna make it, is with divine rescue. Now, here’s the problem that we have today. In our zeal to reach people for Christ, I’ll give people the benefit of the doubt, preachers and churches that go off the rails, I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt.
«We wanna reach people for Christ». How are you gonna reach them for Christ? «Well, we’ll make them feel comfortable in sin». That’s not how you reach people for Christ. And so, if your life is a car, you open up the back seat, «Well, Jesus, get in, and I’m driving and you just are along for the ride». Doesn’t work that way. You know, if you’ve ever read his business card, it says, «Lord Jesus Christ,» it says, «Master,» he doesn’t come in the back seat of your car. So the real meaning of Christmas is hard to accept, it’s just like they said to Jesus, in John chapter 6, «This is a difficult statement, who can listen to it»? And they quit following him. People get mad when you say that they are sinners, helpless, hopeless, in desperate need of a Savior, but that’s true.
So, the real meaning of Christmas, hard to fathom, hard to accept, and thirdly, is often missed, is often missed. And so look at verse 21 again, «And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus». Yeshua, Joshua, in the Old Testament, is this, the Old Testament name, the Hebrew name, the name means Yahweh saves, «For it is He who will save His people from their sins». This is what is so often missed. Jesus came to save us from our sins, not in our sins, from our sins, not in our sins. What does that mean, what’s the difference? The Lord hates sin, he doesn’t save you and leave you in sin, he saves you from sin.
Colossians chapter 1, verses 13 and 14, «For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins». So he took us out of, «The domain of darkness,» when we cried out to him in repentance of faith, and brought us into, «The kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins». In the Old Testament, God took his people out of Egypt and brought them through the Red Sea, brought them into the promised land. That’s the picture of the Christian life. How did they come out of Egypt? Through the blood of a lamb. How do we come out of sin? Through the blood of the Lamb. God doesn’t leave us there, he takes us out of there.
And we have people today that say, «Well, I’m a Christian, and I’m a gay Christian,» «I’m a Christian and I’m attracted to young girls and boys, I’m a minor-attracted Christian,» «I’m a Christian and I’m an alcoholic Christian,» «I’m a Christian and I’m an adulterous Christian». That doesn’t make any sense at all, the Lord says, «Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord,» you shall be holy, for I am holy. If you’re holding on to sin, you can’t be a Christian, you can’t be saved, nobody gets saved holding on to sin. How do we get saved? By repentance and faith. Repentance, what does that mean? I let go of sin, I turn from sin and I turn to the Savior. The song says, «I was sinking deep in sin, far from the peaceful shore, very deeply stained within, sinking to rise no more; but the Master of the sea heard my despairing cry, and from the waters lifted me, now safe am I».
Did he leave me in the waters? No, he lifted me from the waters and he put my feet on solid ground, he planted me on the rock, I’m not in the water any more. 1 Corinthians chapter 6, verses 9, 10 and 11 say this, «Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the Kingdom of God. And such were some of you,» not, «Such are some of you,» «Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God».
What, what happened to those people in Corinth? They were this way, and he delivered them from sin, and they’re not that way anymore. Anybody who tries to tell you that it’s ok to live in sin is a liar, that person is deceived and deceiving, that’s not how it works, God delivers us from sin. So he doesn’t save us in our sins, he saves us from our sins. And genuine salvation, you mark it down, it always changes your attitude towards sin, always, you can’t have the same attitude towards sin once you’ve truly been saved. Why? Because when you give your life to Christ, he gives his life to you through the person of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit of God comes to live inside your life, and the Holy Spirit of God hates sin, and the Holy Spirit of God wants you to live sensibly, righteously, godly, in this present evil age.
And so, if your attitude hasn’t changed towards sin, newsflash, you probably have never been saved. This is what John says, 1 John chapter 3, «Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. And you know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins,» and sins as a practice, that’s what he’s talking about, «Has seen Him or knows Him. Little children, let no one deceive you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, that He might destroy the works of the devil».
Listen, if you can sin and it doesn’t bother you, and you can be around sin and it doesn’t bother you, something is seriously wrong and you need to take inventory of your life, and say, «Have I ever truly been saved»? See, when you get saved, the Lord doesn’t fix it so you can’t sin anymore, he fixes it so you can’t sin and enjoy it anymore, and if you can sin and enjoy it, there’s something seriously wrong, you’ve never really been saved. Now, any Christian knows you can commit terrible, horrible sins as a Christian, and you will hate yourself for it, because, here’s the thing, genuine salvation always comes with a desire to obey. When the Lord comes into your heart, he changes your wanter and you want to obey him. It doesn’t mean you do it perfectly, but there’s a desire that wasn’t there before and you want to do what he says. Why? Because you love him, you love him who saved you from the domain of darkness, and transferred you into the kingdom of his beloved Son.
2 Corinthians 5:17 says that we’ve become a new creature, «If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, new things have come,» and you wanna obey the Lord. And Jesus said, «He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me; and he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and will disclose Myself to him». When the Lord comes in, «In Him was life, and the life was the light of men». When the Lord comes in, the life comes in, when the life comes in, the light comes on, when the life and light are there, there’s a desire to please God and to walk in the light with him. Here’s the bottom line as we close. Has your life been changed?