The Birth Of Jesus Is Of No Value

Dr. C. David Coyle, DRE

         The Birth Of Jesus Is Of No Value

          How’s that title for an eye-catcher, huh? You always learn in Homiletics class that your first statement ought to capture the attention of your audience. That ought to do it. Now, please read the whole thing before you decide to whip me with a candy cane. It will become clear by the time you get to the bottom. I promise.

          This is a time when we Christians tend to get bogged down with the baby in the manger, the fact of the coming of Jesus Christ into the world, into humanity. And many verses in the Bible support that. And I have no problem with that. But, that isn’t enough. Beyond historical fact of the event is the purpose or the reason for the coming of Christ into the world and into human flesh. Let me give you a context of verses you wouldn’t ordinarily think of as a Christmas text, but, I maintain it is. Because it covers the birth of Jesus from the aspect of the purpose of God. There is no cute and cuddly, here. But there is plenty of reason to praise Him for His birth.
"For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshipers once purged should have had no more con- science of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second” (Hebrews 10:1-9).

          There is a reason for the birth of the baby in Bethlehem. He was to be “the lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). It is appropriate that shepherds would be in attendance at His birth, since He is the sacrificial lamb of God. He was born to be the sacrifice for sin, in keeping with the Law, to fulfill it in the lives of many. He was our substitute, Who paid our debt, to pay for our sin, by way of our faith in that substitution. When He hung on the cross, He did it as me, as you, so that, by faith we could live. He was born so our sin could die, forever and our souls could live forever. He rose to defeat death for us, which would have entrapped all. In His captivity He made us free. In His humanity He made us immortal. In His resurrection and ascension He made us glorious, though its reality is still prospective, for another time. His resurrection gives us the power to live our lives in obedience to Him. He ascended to prepare our homecoming, to receive us to Himself, so that where [He is], there [we] may be also” (John 14:3). In faith, in His death, we are “born again” (John 3:3, 5), “not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever” (1 Peter 1:23). We are therefore forgiven of our past and born into “newness of life” that we might, by His power and in His truth live lives of victorious fellowship with Him and each other; “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4). None of these things were intended, in the economy of God, to be provided in any other way.

          He was “the lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world”(Revelation 13:8). I want you to let that thought soak in for a moment. In His foreknowledge, God knew He’s have to redeem us, you and me, by name, before there was a man who sinned, from the first moment of the world. That is how much you, personally, matter to almighty God. The song says, “He loved me e’er I knew Him.” What a thought! The Scripture says, “ We love him, because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). There was a sacrificial system in place. But, the blood of those bull and goats and sheep were not effectual in removing sin from and individual or a nation, though they were offered for both. They were a reminder that we are unclean and live among the unclean and have need to be cleansed from our imperfection. Now, that doesn’t happen, entirely, in this life. We are still in a flesh that lusts to please itself rather than God. Understand that. But, when we stand before Christ we will be totally righteous and holy. We should long for that day. The Law stood as a constant reminder that we are sinners and thus, fulfilled its purpose for being. Enter, Jesus Christ, God the Son, born into humanity, yet, fully God to take away the sin of all in the world who would believe Him for life. That is why the baby was born. I love that little baby. I love His cross and I love that He is coming again for me, so I may be glorified in Him, forever. So, God, in the fulfillment of His purpose, at exactly, the right time, sent his Son into the world to free all who were bound to sin and helpless to do anything to do anything about it (us). And He has provided the way for that freedom of soul and spirit and gave us the right to address God as our Father (Galatians 4:4-6). So, Jesus, in obedience to the will of the Father, by His determination to demonstrate His tremendous love for us, agreed. And through the utterance of prophetic writing, declared, purposely, determinedly, “Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me…” (Hebrews 10:5).

          The cross of Calvary is the reason for this season we celebrate as Christmas. The baby boy in the manger was the means, the vehicle through which the Son of God became the Son of Man, to be the sacrifice for mankind, so that we could become the sons of God. “For he hath made him to be sin for us, [He] who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). If an emotional, warm feeling toward a little baby being born, without much more thought about it, without questioning why the baby was born in Bethlehem and why that is important to us, without investigating the rest of the story about Him, then, the birth of Jesus is of no value in your life. And that is a very sad thing. For, though, you emote over the baby, you have failed to make Him part of your life. Your celebration is empty, your life is without purpose and your existence is meaningless in this world. You are not saved. Please, trust the Christ of Christmas to be your Savior from sin. Turn to Him and live your life through Him. If you are a Christian, saved, but, not living for this wonderful Savior, ask Him to forgive you and make Him the hallmark of the living of the rest of your life. Have a godly and blessed Christmas this year and every day of your life.

Christmas, Longfellow, the Civil War and a Beautiful Song of Peace

by C David Coyle on Tuesday, November 30, 2010 at 1:23pm
I posted this in 2009, edited it for 2010.

One of the most beautiful Christmas songs ever penned arose out of the deepest time of tragedy and despair our nation has ever known. Many times that is the case. Sometimes it takes tragedy to focus our eyes upon what is beautiful, what is true, what is constant and changeless. We often look beyond the obvious truth before us to chase after unfulfilling and elusive dreams. I have always had an interest in history and most things about the Civil War. As a native son of Hagerstown, Maryland, it’s almost a given. Twelve miles to the south is the town of Sharpsburg, the Potomac to the west and the Antietam Creek which intersects it. Burnside Bridge, Miller’s Cornfield and Bloody Lane were common sights. Gettysburg, PA is fifty miles north and east and to the south is Chantilly, Fairfax Station and Manassas, in VA, eighty miles away. Then, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville and The Wilderness, another fifty miles below them. They were costly battles in loss of life and property. At Antietam, alone, twenty-three-thousand men fell in the bloodiest single day’s fight of the war, September 17, 1862. It was a bleak time in our nation’s history and a time of deep personal depression for many. One such man was Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

Born in Portland, Maine in 1807, the same year Abraham Lincoln was born. He became a well known professor and writer of literature at Harvard, his younger brother, Samuel became a Unitarian minister. This was a time of deep sorrow and reflection for Henry, as his wife died, tragically when her dress caught fire in their home in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1861. Later that year, war broke out and split the country. In 1863, his seventeen year old son, Charlie joined the Union Army, seeing action at the Battle of Chancellorsville, and contracted typhoid in June of that year. He recovered and was returned to his regiment, then, received a shoulder wound at the battle at New Hope Church, VA, on November 27. Henry went, immediately, to Washington, D.C., found his son well enough to travel and took him home to Cambridge, arriving on December 8. He was depressed — about to despair of any hope for man-kind, his torn country and his fractured life. Then, he heard the church bells peeling out on Christmas day and they seemed to resound with hope, reminding him that God is still on the throne and that hope is not found in the acts of man but in faith in Jesus Christ, a hope commemorated on Christmas day — a hope more profound than death or life themselves. Undampened in his resolve that God would triumph, even over civil war and undeterred to share his renewed hope, he penned these words, in early 1864. Included are two original verses which are usually excluded from most hymnals of today.

“I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat,
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bowed my head:
‘There is no peace on earth,’ I said,
For hate is strong, and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

Then peeled the bells more loud and deep:
God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With peace on earth, good will to men.

Till ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime,
Of peace on earth, good will to men.”

Whether you meet it in joy or sorrow, may your Christmas be filled with joy and “the peace that passeth all understanding” in the Christ of Christmas. Merry Christmas!

Reverend C. David Coyle
Christmas, 2010

My You Tube postings are located at:
http://www.youtube.com/RealLifeWorthLiving.

If you've made it this far, here is a link for you. It recounts the story above, a little different and ends with some young folks singing the song. I hope you like it. Click the link, below. Copy and paste into your browser:

http://youtu.be/AUWD9Rsmfuw

Would You Cut Your Own Throat for a-Million Dollars?

Of course, you wouldn’t. Unless he had a real problem, mentally, no one would. Certainly, not on purpose, the million-bucks, notwithstanding. And yes, I agree with you, it is a silly question. But, bear with me a few minutes. I want to tell you a story I remember from TV and show you something you just might be familiar within your own experience.

When I was a teenager, there was a very popular, science-fiction, mystery, weelky show on Television called the Twilight Zone, written and hosted by Rod Serling. Most all the presentations had a strange, even weird twist at their core and many times taught a lesson or a moral worth thinking about. That show must have really impressed me, because, there are a few, these, nearly, fifty years later that I remember pretty well. That brings us to the one I want to share with you, now.

This episode involved a man who was a real talker, an incessant chatter box, even worse than me. You know the type. He had a comment, an opinion, a statement, an observation, a quip or a fun-loving comment about just about everything. One of his acquaintances, tired of the sound of the guy’s voice, made him a wager that he was sure the fellow couldn’t win. Since he was fairly well-to-do, he bet that the man in question couldn’t keep quiet -- not utter a single word for one year. To sweeten the pot, if he could he would be paid one million dollars. Of course, the wealthy man felt he’d never have to pay off and he would have a year of not hearing his friend’s voice. To safeguard his bet, he had set up a nice living arrangement in his own home and had a glass wall erected he could observe the man through, occasionally. He had microphones planted to pick up the smallest utterance. Time went on and a-year passed. All who had witnessed the bet were gathered for the last moments leading up to the pay off. As it turns out the man made no sound up until the last minute. And he had won the wager, clearly and was entitled to the-million dollars. The moment of truth had arrived. One man expected, happily, a pay off of one-million dollars and the other the reality that he had lost and underestimated the other man, who seemed to have resolve beyond his imagination. But, he had a problem. He made the bet because he was certain the other guy could make it a full year without uttering a word. It was a sure thing. He never expected to have to pay up. But, here he was, a year had passed and the guy had not spoken a word and had earned the money. As I said this was the moment of truth. The man who had posed the wager felt sick, sorrow-filled and ashamed as he confessed that he didn’t have one-million dollars to pay the other man. He was certain he could make the wager and the other man would default in a few hours, or, days, at most. He confessed to all.

The bet couldn’t be paid. A year was lost in one man’s life. But, all is well. He was well taken care of and no real harm was done. Or, was there? The man in the glass-walled room was shocked and a terrified expression came over his face. He took up a pad of paper, with which he had communicated for the past year and wrote a note, to the surprise of all. Why write a note? The year was up and he had won the bet. It was all over and he was, now, free to speak all he wanted. His note was read. He peeled off his ascot, a common piece of apparel for the past year, along with a robe which he normally lounged in in his room of silence. As he removed the ascot a scar was revealed on his throat. The note said that he, fearing his will-power was not up to the task and that he didn’t trust his ability to keep quiet for the agreed-to time, hedged his bet and had his vocal chords surgically severed. He too, felt he couldn’t lose. His success was a cinch. Both men depended on the word of the other. Each man felt he was dealing with a sure thing and couldn’t lose. Neither man, as it were, acted fairly. Each had a plan, a scheme in mind to buffer his bet. One man had his own throat cut for a-million dollars -- and its result was that he did it for nothing!! Each man tried to take advantage of the other. Each man lied. Remember, my question? Would you cut your own throat for a-million dollars? Probably not. Yet, many of us (all of us, at times), brokering a better position for ourselves, make foolish decisions that come back to hurt us. One man tricked another at the promise of great riches. The other involved himself in self-destructive behavior at the promise of wealth. This is not unique. The greatest enemy of God and of mankind has been motivating this kind of deals for centuries. It was his lie to our original parents, for self-benefit that kicked off the whole thing. Seeking your own pleasure at the sacrifice of someone else’s well-being, or, even your on is contrary to what God prescribed and put into place. It stems from the thinking that my good and pleasure is more important than another's. That is in direct opposition to what God wants.

Any plan opposing His plan is disobedience and that disobedience is sin. God leads in righteousness and resistance of that is unrighteousness, is opposed to all God is and stands for. This is not just an incident in human experience which is pictured in the TV show, above. False promises are made every day. There is nothing new about them. And the source is not entirely a human invention. Yes, I know. Some of you don’t want to hear about him. But, false promises, promises of greatness and grandeur are Satan’s great specialty. He has uncannily duped unwitting people out of the sure blessings of God, for a mess of pottage. He promises great things, using “great, swelling words”, but, he can’t produce. His goal, for the centuries has been to convince you and me of our own greatness and get us to reject the wisdom of God and obedience to Him. And if we are very unskilled in the Word of God, as most are, we will fall for his deals, every time. But, the Bible tells us what he is up to, how he works and what God expects of us, especially, if we are Christians. We should not be ignorant of his devices; “Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices” (2 Corinthians 2:11). If we seek our direction from the Word of God we won’t be ignorant of his devices. We should not be unaware of His methodology and his self-exalting motive; “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High” (Isaiah 14:14). By getting you to ignore God he sees himself as superior to God and your disobedience to God becomes obedience to him. And his condemnation becomes your future, as well. We should not be lulled by his assurances of great things, or wealth, or power, or prestige. Those who believe them are guilty of repeating them; “For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error” (2 Peter 2:18). Satan is a liar and always has been. He is a murderer and always has been. His mischief isn’t innocent. It is designed to cause men to ignore, oppose and rebuke God and His Word. That is to the detriment of all who follow his counsel. Accepting God’s will, God’s Word leads to life. By contrast, the devil’s words and counsel, his intent is to undo what God seeks to secure and that leads to death. If believing Jesus is eternal life, then, rejecting Him is eternal death. “Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it” (John 8:42-44).

And Jesus ought to know what He is talking about. He is the Creator of all things and of every being, in or under heaven, including Satan and knows the hearts and intentions of all. The devil, Satan is the Adversary (enemy) of God and all that is or are His. He is the enemy of the believer who is determined to live his life for the Lord Jesus Christ, to please Him. Trying to live exclusively for yourself and your own pleasure doesn’t. It certainly doesn’t please God. The only one who is pleased is Satan, who has thwarted God’s plan in your life and led you astray from God. He will oppose every godly thing you do, say, think or produce and he will try to keep you from your godly purpose, if he can, as long as he can, to keep you from producing as much as he can for God. He wants you to be ignorant of himself and his workings, as well as the truth about the blessings God has promised to those who would serve Him. Our success comes in not believing his lies and not entertaining the sound of his suggestions. Spurn him and he will leave you alone and go look for some more fertile ground to dig in. “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. … Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up” (James 4:7-8,10).

Just like the intentions of the well-to-do man in our story, Satan wishes to shut you up, to prevent you from speaking up about anything that identifies you as a Christian, with a positive testimony. It is offensive to him. It declares his doom. It is contrary to everything he has led himself and his angels to accept. It opposes his whole world of thought, since he opposes the truth. He wishes to make you a mere “professor” of the truth, but, stop your “confession” of it. But, the confession of it is obedience to God and the power behind salvation and the proof of it. “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:10). Obedience is blessed of God and disobedience is under condemnation; “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled” (2 Corinthians 10:5-6).

If you are silenced in your relationship with God, you are a voiceless mockery of the faith. You are, in essence, a pretender. You have been lulled by the devil’s lies and duped with false assurances. You have become complicit with the enemy in being silenced by the deceiver. But unlike the man whose vocal chords were cut, you have the power to change into what God wants in and for you and to become a crystal bell, sounding out truth in clear, sweet, constant tones of grace, of mercy, of the love of Christ for all to hear.

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Real Life Study #6 001

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Life: Live it, Love it, Give it