Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz20071209.htm

GOD'S DIRECTION IN FAMILY CRISES AT CHRISTMAS
Part II: Heeding God's Oversight In A Perilous Era For Our Families
(Matthew 2:1-14)

Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

Many people are concerned about the welfare of families in our troubled world, and, from recent media reports, they have cause to be:

(1) On December 5th, Brad Davis reported on his radio show, "The Talk of Connecticut", that a bill had been signed in California requiring that all students in the California public school system be taught unbiblical gender orientations! Thus, thousands are looking into home schooling to avoid such immoral instruction for their children!

(2) The December 7-9, 2007 issue of USA TODAY ran a cover story on Republican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney's speech last Thursday about his Mormon faith. Trying to calm evangelicals so they will vote for him regardless of his religion, Romney asserted, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God and the savior of mankind."

That statement may sound good, but, what Mormons mean by it differs greatly from what we teach. Mormons believe: "Jesus our elder brother was begotten in the flesh by the same character that was in the Garden of Eden and who is our father in heaven . . . our father Adam . . . is our father and our God and the only God with whom we have to do." (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, as cited in Salem Kirban, Mormonism, 1971, p. 40) Saying as does Mormonism that God the Father is Adam who was created in Eden so that Jesus was created COUNTERS Biblical Christianity's claim that Jesus is the eternal Son of the eternal Father who never WAS CREATED, but that He CREATED ADAM in Genesis 1-2! (John 1:1-3, 14) So, in accord with 1 Corinthians 12:3b, Mormonism is heresy!

Apart from Mitt Romney's human ability to be president, many believers are concerned that due to this speech, many people may view Mormonism as a part of Christianity when it actually has very non-Christian beliefs (and origins), and so lead to great deception!

(3) Connecticut's Governor Jodi Rell last week voiced outrage that hangman nooses, symbols of hatred toward African-Americans, had shown up at various sites in our state. Yes, racial hatred still exists here, so we wonder about the peace and safety of future generations!

So, we ask, "In view of the troubling environment today's world presents for FAMILIES and CHILDREN, what guidance do we have from GOD'S involvement with Mary and Joseph that First Christmas for the PROTECTION that our families NEED?"

(We turn to the sermon "Need" section . . . )

Need: "In view of the complexities and depths of the PERILS our FAMILIES face today, how would God have us protect them?!"
  1. Jesus Christ faced a very PERILOUS environment at His birth:
    1. Revelation 12:1-4 reveals that Satan, symbolically seen as a great red dragon, stood ready to "devour" (KJV, NIV, ESV) Israel's Messiah, Jesus as soon as he was born, Bible Knowledge Com., N. T., p. 958.
    2. Satan controls the present world's kingdoms (Matthew 4:8-9), so his use of wicked king Herod in Matthew 2 left Jesus in great danger:
      1. Matthew 2:1-3 KJV reports the arrival of magi who asked about the newborn king of the Jews "troubled" Herod and all Jerusalem.
      2. In view of history, we can understand why they were troubled:
        1. The Matthew 2 "Herod" was Herod the Great, an Arab of Esau's line, an Idumean, and the Jews hated him as he was an impostor to David's throne, and kept it by great cruelty, Ibid., p. 203, 22.
        2. Herod surrounded himself with foreign mercenaries who had no ties with the Judaeans, men he could trust, and he formed an army of spies in Jerusalem to report on any foes so he could torture them for data and crush all rebellion, Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, 1972, p. 127.
        3. Before ruling Jerusalem, Herod as former governor of Galilee, had once neared Jerusalem with an army, riled at its sanhedrin's critique of his harsh acts upon rebelling Galileans, and was at last persuaded by his father to withdraw his forces, Ibid., p. 123.
        4. So, for Persian-Parthian magi, king makers who rivaled Rome's power in Herod's era, to come to Jerusalem under cavalry escort in a deep penetration into Roman territory (Zon d. Pict. Ency. of the Bible, vol. Four, p. 33-34) and ask for one born "king of the Jews" was to fuel the worst possible insecurity and fury in the Idumean king Herod, and to trouble Jerusalem's Jews who feared torture if he tried to find and kill such a newborn king!
      3. Herod asked the Jewish leaders where Messiah would be born, and they said it was in Bethlehem according to Micah 5:2, Matt. 2:4-6.
      4. He then privately asked the magi when the star that had signaled Messiah's birth had first appeared, for he wanted know what age of child to kill, Matthew 2:7. Herod then sent them to Bethlehem to search diligently for the Infant and report back to him that he might "worship" Him, all while secretly planning to kill Jesus, Matt. 2:8.
      5. Trusting Herod's word, the magi left for Bethlehem, Matthew 2:9a.
  2. Also, Mary and Joseph were unaware of the grave danger to Jesus:
    1. Mary had been greatly encouraged by the arrival of the shepherds at Jesus' birth, men who gave them wide acceptance with people of the area over news of Jesus' being Israel's Messiah and Lord, Luke 2:8-19.
    2. After 40 more days of such supportive fame in Bethlehem, Mary and Joseph were edified by the things said about Jesus in the temple by Simeon and Anna, Luke 2:21-24, 25-38 with Leviticus 12:1-6.
    3. Still later, the arrival of the powerful Persian-Parthian king makers who bowed to worship Jesus and give Him royal gifts would have awed Joseph and Mary, making them relax all the more, Matt. 2:11, 8!
    4. So, instead of being afraid, Mary and Joseph felt relaxed and safe!
  3. Yet, GOD SOVEREIGNLY COORDINATED COMPLEX events to SUPPLY Joseph the INSIGHT he needed to PROTECT Jesus:
    1. God wanted the magi to meet and worship Jesus, so He led them to Him by way of the supernatural movement of the star, Matt. 2:9-11.
    2. Herod would not have sent his men to trail the magi to Jesus: (1) he dared not risk a reprisal from the magi's cavalry by threatening Jesus, and so (2) miss killing Jesus Who would be whisked to safety by the magi, (3) creating future problems when the infant (in his thinking) grew up to take revenge against him, (4) and thus rouse the Emperor's ire for instigating a costly conflict with key rivals over a little baby!
    3. So, Herod prudently asked the magi to report to him on Jesus' location with the plan to kill Jesus after the magi had left Israel, Matt. 2:8, 13b.
    4. God thus warned the magi in a dream to go home without reporting to Herod, stalling Herod's move against Jesus; then, in another dream, God told Joseph of Herod's plan so he could quickly take Mary and Jesus by cover of night and flee to an undisclosed location, 2:12-13a!
    5. God did not have Joseph flee back north to Galilee (Luke 2:4) -- that was too dangerous: Herod ruled all Israel, and he had once governed Galilee where he could use past contacts to find Jesus. No, Egypt was better: it was run by the Ptolemys who had long fought the Seleucids who ruled Israel, so Herod no power to harm Jesus in Egypt. God had Joseph flee into Egypt, Matthew 2:13b; Ibid., Edersheim, p. 121, 123.
  4. Joseph then trusted and heeded God to keep Jesus safe, Matt. 2:14.
Application: In a perilous era for families, may we (1) trust in Christ to be saved and led by God, John 3:16; Rom. 8:14. Then, (2) may we (a) TRUST GOD to oversee all our welfare, and (b) HEED Him!

Lesson: In a perilous world, Joseph and Mary RELIED on and HEEDED GOD'S SOVEREIGN LEADING to protect the Infant Jesus from harm.

Conclusion: (To illustrate the sermon lesson . . . )

As He has so pointedly and regularly done in recent months, the Lord again led regarding the closing illustration of this message:

You will recall that last Sunday I reported God had "stalled" in directing me to understand His leading on what to preach last week until I had spent not only restless weeks of thought about it beforehand, but then again two more fruitless hours in the office on Tuesday, November 27th. That fit with the lesson in last week's sermon out of Matthew 1:20, that we must pause in crises for GOD to make the steps we are to take clear regarding the family crises we face at Christmas!

However, for today's sermon, in keeping with the Matthew 2:1-14 passage we just covered, this illustration came rapidly, recalling how Joseph had to act quickly, whisking Mary and Jesus out of the town of Bethlehem that first Christmas! Here is how it happened:

Last Monday, my "day off," I uncharacteristically did some casual research on Herod the Great relative to Matthew 2, and my wife caught me reading Edersheim's classic, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah . She asked what I was doing, so I explained the gist of today's sermon: I told how, in view of the turbulent events in Herod's reign, the Infant Jesus faced grave danger that first Christmas. Yet, God had orchestrated very complex events in Matthew 2 so His Son might escape Herod's planned destruction just in time to flee for safety! When Joseph and Mary trusted and heeded the Lord's leading, Jesus was at last safely put out of Herod's reach!

Nadine then indicated she had earlier that morning been thinking about the need of spiritual safety for a party she new, and how this insight I had just given her in passing had led her to rest in the Lord concerning the issue! So, like Joseph who had been unaware of any concerns to the contrary, but who had been under God's watchful eye amid great complexities of intrigue, issues Joseph probably did not understand, I had been under God's watchful eye even to pick up Edersheim's book that "day off" and casually seek to get the facts I needed just in time to minister in behalf of my own wife's concerns!

In the same way, may we put our trust in Christ as Savior for salvation, and KEEP our trust in His MASSIVE OVERSIGHT and CARE; then, let us HEED Him when He SIGNALS us to take the steps needed to bring our families under God's shield of safety!