I believe that the men aimed at under the term, "sectarian," are the true followers of Christ, and that the sneers and jeers, and all the nonsense that you are always reading and hearing about, is really aimed at the Christian, the true Christian, only he is disguised and nick-named by the word sectarian. It is true, we cannot look upon him with these mortal eyes, but we have seen him with those eyes immortal which death cannot dim the eyes of our own spirit which have been opened by God's Holy Spirit. God has descended to live among men, that there may be no wall of restraining fire, no gulf between God and man. Thus, I have given you the example. Evil, fallen, depraved as men and women are, when they are illuminated by the Holy Spirit then they will have the right judgment of God, their hearts melt under the pleasant beams of divine love, and they love God because He has first loved them. What does that mean? What! But, not so the righteous. Because the day is not known, therefore superstition has fixed it; while, since the day of the death of our Savior might be determined with much certainty, therefore superstition shifts the date of its observance every year. The wise men will find in Him incarnate wisdom; He, who as a youth is to become the teacher of scholars, who will sit down and ask them questions and receive their answers, surely He will find room at once among such educated men--men of sense and intellect will surely honor Him. They had not learned to say, Our Father in heaven. They had not received the spirit of adoption, and were not able to say Abba; they smarted under the spirit of bondage, which made them terrified when the glory of the Lord's presence was displayed among them. A few with splendid talents, a few of the erudite and profound have bowed like children at the feet of the Babe of Bethlehem, and have been honored in bowing there, but too many, conscious of their knowledge, stiff and stern in their conceit of wisdom, have said, "Who is Christ that we should acknowledge Him?" C.H. Christ had a special work. 1. The weakness of submissive gentleness is true power. Then what will I do? It adds, "Good will towards" not Jews, but "men" all men. It may be that in the young dawn of life we did imprudent things in order to serve the cause of Christ; but I say, give me back the time again, with all its imprudence and with all its hastiness, if I might but have the same love to my Master, the same overwhelming influence in my spirit making me obey because it was a pleasure to me to obey God. This sermon, preached by Tony Capoccia, is now available on Audio Cassette or CD: "She gave birth to her firstborn, a son. 42 When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom. But could they remain silent when their eyes had seen such a vision? It is often so; therefore you simple minds, be comforted and glad. Here is my royal Master--have you room for Him? He had become the surety of the covenant, he had sworn that he would execute his Father's business. I think it was intended "to clearly show His humiliation.". O my Beloved, be like a roe, or a young hart, on the mountains of separation. Tell me, if you can why the religion of Christ is so very slow in spreading. Why you would say, "I think it is very likely true, for he is so happy about it.". Lastly, we can only take a few moments in APPLYING THE CURE TO VARIOUS CASES. You could not make your child show love to you if its little heart was full of fear; if it dreaded to hear your footstep, and was alarmed at the sound of your voice, it could not love you. The man of common sense, who feels the daily rub and tear of this poor world, needs richer consolation than your novel theologies, or neologies, can give him. He knows that man cannot love that which terrifies him, and therefore he paints the God of grace as a hard, unforgiving person who will not receive the repentant sinner and have pity on the sorrowful person. Exclusions of certain classes are unknown here, and the prerogatives of social class are not acknowledged. They sang, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will to men." Enduring Word Bible Commentary Luke Chapter 2 One part of his Father's business was, to send into the world a perfect example for our imitation. God be with you. I feel an all-controlling, overwhelming influence which constrains me at all times and in every place to be about my Father's business; the spirit of high, holy, entire, sincere, determined consecration in heart to God. Part 3: Obedient (Luke 2:51-52) 51 Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was obedient to them. That manger was the place where the treaty was signed, whereby warfare should cease between man's conscience and himself, man's conscience and his God. 1. O blessed preoccupation! He has good will towards men; He is willing to pardon; He passes by evil, misbehavior, and sin. "Oh! "they say. His parents don't understand, however. The joy which this first gospel preacher spoke of was no mean one, for he said, "I bring you good tidings" that alone were joy: and not good tidings of joy only, but "good tidings of great joy." The Eternal seems to be so far away from us. I think, they sang it with gladness in their eyes; with their hearts burning with love and joy as if the good news to man had been good to themselves. Never shall we see any great revival in the church, or any great triumphs of religion until the Christian world is more touched with the spirit of entire consecration to Christ. Never mind, don't be discouraged because you know so little. Let this be your authority: "Let him who hears say, 'Come!'" He is a carpenter's son, and the fisherman's companion. Perhaps you know the legend, or perhaps true history of the awakening of St. Augustine. O that each heart might truly say, to me is Jesus born; for it I truly believe in Jesus, unto me Christ is born, and I may be as sure of it as if an angel announced it, since the Scripture tells me that if I believe in Jesus He is mine. But I have been such a sinner; I feel as if my heart has been a den of beasts and devils!" Is the head of the serpent bruised in your soul? That trembling which keeps us at a distance from God, which makes us think of Him as a Spirit with whom we can have no communion; as a person who does not care for us except to punish us, and for whom consequently we have no care except to escape if possible from His terrible presence. Perhaps he is a Christian, but he is most at home when he is talking about science, farming, engineering, horses, mining, navigation, or pleasure-taking. Unto us indeed a child is born, if we can say that he is our "Savior who is Christ the Lord." Well, sir, you spoke truly when you said that; for if there be a profession that will not allow us to give all to Christ, it is not a right profession, and we ought not to follow it at all." What could be more majestic? And ah, beloved, when he came to the climax of his labor, when he came to the greatest toil of all, that which a thousand men could never have done; when he came to do the great work of expiation, how thoroughly he did it, "View him prostrate in the garden; On the ground your Maker lies. But when a man feels, without claiming any merit, that he has fought a good fight, finished his course, and kept the faith, then will he rejoice in the crown which is laid up for him in heaven, and he will long to wear it. And now farewell, with this last word, "He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved; he that believeth not, shall be damned." England owes her freedom to the Bible; and France will never possess liberty, lasting and well-established, till she comes to reverence the gospel, which too long she has rejected. How little room there is for Christ, "in general conversation," which is also like an inn. But the angel's song had in it yet fuller reason for joy; for our Lord who was born in Bethlehem came as a Savior. Wouldn't it have be inappropriate that the Redeemer who was to be buried in a borrowed tomb would be born anywhere but in the humblest shed, and housed anywhere but in the most lowly manner? As Spurgeon says "Now hath heavenly glory wedded earthly poverty; and, henceforth, let no man dare to despise the poor and needy, since the son of the Highest is . Look! And what a peace it is, beloved! "Did ye not that I must?" But, nevertheless, do not run into one extreme by running from another. No wind from the wilderness shall drive our souls into the land of darkness, no fiends with horrid clamor can drag us down to the abyss beneath, no destruction that wasting at noonday, or pestilence waiting in darkness can cut short our mortal career. The World Wide Study Bible includes commentary & sermons. The word "ponder," as you know, means to weigh. We must say it, that philosophy, has done much harm to Christ, and seldom has ever served His cause. You cannot serve God and self any more than you can serve God and mammon. Yes, there are some men who have become so brutal through sin, so utterly depraved by their lusts, that to their own consciences everything human like has departed, but even to such the remedies of Jesus, the Great Physician, will apply. Who, but the professed messengers of heaven and the priests of God? They all three agree in one, and as in the creation they all said, "Let us make man;" so in salvation they all say, "Let us save man;" and each of them does so much of it that it is truly the work of each and undividedly the work of all. He has a farm of a thousand acres, but he thinks he could increase his means, perhaps, by taking a little farm of a hundred acres or so a little way off; and he gives that to a bailiff and does not take much trouble about it himself. Though creation may be a majestic organ of praise, it cannot reach the range of the golden hymn--Incarnation! 1 Corinthians 6:9 : "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God?" If I thought you had the spirit of prayer, and it had been the proper season, I would have joined with you with all my heart." Not with the stammering tongue of him that tells a story in which he has no interest; nor even with the feigned interest of a man that would move the passions of others, when he feels no emotion himself; but with joy and gladness, such as angels only can know. We set before you, now, another way of celebrating Christmas, by HOLY WONDER, ADMIRATION, AND ADORATION. We have beheld the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world. It brings a measure of joy even to those who are not Christians. He came, according to prophecy, to be "despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering." ( Luke 2:4-7) Joseph and Mary come to Bethlehem; Jesus is born. Whatever peace flowed in the heart of Simeon, I am sure it was not of a diviner nature than that which dwells in the bosom of every true believer. See then, Simeon stands yonder, girt and serving his Master; but by-and-by, when the Master sees fit, he turns round and says to Simeon, "Now thou mayest depart, and take thine own meat, thy work is done." They were shepherds, but they preached good; and, my brethren, whatever some may think, preaching is not to be confined to those educated gentlemen who have degrees from a college or university. But still the text says that He was laid in a manger because there was no room for Him in the inn, and this leads us to the second point, "That there were other places besides the inn which had no room for Christ.". Luke 2 JAMES FOOTE - Commentary. Here not only has the Lord come among us as a man, but He was made man in order to save man from that which separated him from God. Well, when these angels came from heaven they told the news just as if they believed it; and though I have often wickedly doubted my Lord's good will, I think I never could have doubted it when I heard those angels singing. I will unleash all my passions, I will defy fate and take my chance. Surely you cannot be afraid of Him. Filled with this amazement will cause you a godly watchfulness; you will be afraid to sin against such love as this. "Ah! Angels came to proclaim the good news of the coming of the incarnate God, and the very first note of their song was a foretaste of the sweet result of His coming to all those who will receive him. Men spoke of the God of Israel with bated breath, and with hushed and solemn voices. This is such a great verse. To report dead links, typos, or html errors or suggestions about making these resources more useful use the convenient. The Lord hath exalted one chosen out of the people. We never scoff at Christians nowadays; we do not sneer at that respectable title, lest we would lose our own honor; we don't nowadays talk against the followers of Jesus under that name. I will say no more, except at the close of this sermon to wish every one of you, the happiest Christmas you ever had in your lives. We must bring down the mystery and make it clear, by knowing, by the teaching of the Holy Spirit, its practical power on the heart and conscience. Wasn't there any in Bethlehem that were very respectable, who kept themselves from the common multitude; persons of reputation and standing--couldn't they find room for Christ? It was said of Him, "He eats with tax collectors and 'sinners'" Even as an infant, by being laid in a manger, He was shown as the sinner's friend. Of course a State-religion, if it will consent to be a weak, submissive, powerless thing, a lion with its teeth all pulled, its mane shaven completely off, and its claws all removed--yes, that may be recognized; but the true Christ and they that follow Him and dare to obey His laws in an evil generation, what room is there for such a people? If Sinai smokes when the law is proclaimed, the earth itself shall melt when the breaches of the law are punished. There is no honest, moral, business which is not sanctified by the gospel. When the old Gauls had drunk of the wines of Italy, they said, "Let us cross the Alps, and take possession of the vineyards, which yield such generous draughts." These, I think, were the impelling motives which forced Christ on in his heavenly labor. Copyright 2002 by Tony Capoccia. Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. He does not represent the whole human race, He represents as many as His Father gave him; He represents a chosen company. Beloved, in order to remove this dreaded nightmare of slavish fear from the heart of humanity, where its horrible influence represses all the noblest aspirations of the soul, our Lord Jesus Christ came in the flesh. Down from above the Blessed Dove Has come into my breast, To witness his eternal love, And give my spirit rest.". If you are professors of Christianity, always try to have a cheerful manner. Oh, says the worldly man, I would have to give up my pleasure if I were to become a Christian. Now, this is one of the biggest lies ever invented, and yet millions of people believe it. The Gospel is preached to every creature and no one is shut out. 1 and 2 ), is all we have concerning our Lord Jesus, till he entered upon his public work in the thirtieth year of his age. But you are illiterate you say, you cannot understand much. Man is like a harp unstrung, and the music of his soul's living strings is discordant, his whole nature wails with sorrow; but the son of David, that mighty harper, has come to restore the harmony of humanity, and where his gracious fingers move among the strings, the touch of the fingers of an incarnate God brings forth music sweet as that of the spheres, and melody rich as a seraph's canticle. Now, Christ felt just in the same way.
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