2021-12-19 – Galatians 3:23-4:7 – The Most Wonderful Time

2019-12-19 – Galatians 3.23-4.7 – The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
Good morning everyone. It is so nice to be able to spend some time with you all in fellowship with the Lord. Thank you and God bless you for being with us today.

Ryan read for us from the Old Testament prophet Isaiah about the coming of Jesus. It is amazing that was written some 750 years before Jesus was borne. Coincidently, I ran across another prophetic verse about Jesus from the book of Micah just yesterday that I thought I would share. Micah 5:2 says

It is estimated that there are over 365 Old Testament Prophecies that were fulfilled in Jesus Christ’s birth, life, death and resurrection. That is way beyond coincidence. That was actually God’s plan. And in that, we now celebrate and sing about it with joy.

I just love singing Christmas carols together as the season is now upon us in full swing, don’t you? Poll Question: Who’s got their Christmas tree up already? Who doesn’t? Interesting historical fact, the country of Germany is credited with starting the Christmas tree tradition back in the 16th century. In fact, it’s believed that the Rev. Martin Luther was the first person who had a real lighted tree. The story goes that as he was walking home one winter’s night seeing the stars twinkling amidst the evergreen trees and he was reminded of the verse from the sermon he was preparing [SLIDE] – “The glory of Lebanon will come to you, the juniper, the fir and the cypress together, to adorn my sanctuary; and I will glorify the place for my feet”. Isaiah 60:13

So, to recapture that image Martin Luther decided to set up a tree in the main room of his house with real flaming candles on it. I’m sure it was a beautiful sight, but it also sounds extremely hazardous doesn’t it! Anybody here going with that “historical candle-lit” option this year on your tree? I think not, Lol.
We got our Christmas tree setup last week. It is so beautiful at night to see the whole room all lit-up by the glow of that magical Christmas tree.
I guess that is one reason why they say Christmas is The Most Wonderful Time of the year, which is also the title of our message today.

Please turn in your Bibles to Galatians 3.23; pew Bibles pg. 1033 in God’s Inspired, Infallible and Living Word, but let us first start with Prayer.

Have you heard that old classic song by Andy Williams played yet? It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year. In a small way, that song seems to kick-off the Christmas season for me. Now, I understand that it’s just a song, and I can imagine that it might even cause some folks to question why Christmas is supposed to be “the most wonderful time of the year”, especially while they are in the throws of all the challenges that life has to bring. For that answer I thought it would be good for us to open again our Bibles and take a look at this letter-book of Galatians written by the Apostle Saint Paul. [SLIDE] Verse 23 starts out though by giving us first The Purpose of the Law. That may seem unrelated, but I promise you will see its relevance as this message here unfolds.  Paul wrote:

23 Before this faith came, we were confined under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith was revealed. 24 The law, then, was our guardian until Christ, so that we could be justified by faith. 25 But since that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26 for through faith you are all sons of God in Christ Jesus.

So in a nutshell, Before Christ came, Moses laws, not just the 10 commandments, but all 613 of them were considered to be our Guardian. They were designed for the purpose of keeping good order, and to differentiate for us between what was right and what was wrong. But even more than that, those Laws were designed to make us eventually realize that we really are a flawed people. Nobody could keep and maintain all those laws requirements. So effectively, before Jesus came into the world, we were prisoners of the Law. But then at the right time, God sent Himself, in the form of His Son Jesus, to satisfy all the Laws, and then become the perfect sacrificial Lamb, paying for all the sins for those that choose to believe, so that we might have the opportunity to be Saved. Jesus Christ made it possible for sinners to be set free. He paid the price for the sins of man. For you and for me. And because of that we can be saved. All I can say is ‘thank You Lord, Thank You Jesus’ and ‘Praise His Holy Name’. Amen!
Verse 27 continues: [SLIDE]

27 For those of you who were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ.
28 There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female; since you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, heirs according to the promise.

As we are preparing to celebrate Christmas, you should know that God chose the Jewish nation to bring in the Savior of the World. However, before Jesus Christ arrived, to be considered a “child of God”, you had to be a Jewish born citizen. But now that Jesus has come, everything is changed. Everyone that chooses to call Jesus as their Lord and Savior, is now grafted into the vine, adopted into the family of God. We are all heirs to the throne. Chapter 4 continues this thought:

41 Now I say that as long as the heir is a child, he differs in no way from a slave though he is the owner of everything. 2 Instead, he is under guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. 3 In the same way we also, when we were children, were in slavery under the elements of the world. 4 When the time came to completion, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying,
“Abba, Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then God has made you an heir.

Now the book of Galatians might not be the first go-to book of Scripture you think of when it comes to our Christmas tradition. Most likely you think of Luke talking about the angels and shepherds, or Matthew talking about the wise men, or even the prophecies of Jesus’ birth from Isaiah. However, in this letter-book of Galatians, Paul addresses the important question of timing, and that’s what I want us to focus on in these verses this morning. Again, Galatians 4:4 says “When the time came to completion”, this refers to the moment in human history that was fixed and appointed by God. When the time was just right for sending His Son into the world. And that is what we now celebrate on Christmas day, December 25th. It is the day we set aside each year to remember Jesus Christ’s miraculous birth, because that one event changed everything in the most wonderful, wonderful way imaginable.

Jesus Christ freed us from those laws. He made a way for us to be with Him in heaven for all eternity, and that is definitely something worth celebrating.
Sadly though, most people don’t realize their unfortunate lost state. They live under their own false pretense that they don’t need Jesus to get into heaven. If you walked out the door of our church after service today and asked the first person you meet on the streets, how they can go to heaven when they die? what are they most likely going to say? Probably something like – “live as good a life as you can”, or “do lots of good deeds for the people”. Those are the typical things you’d hear. It’s a man-made system of works that tries to answer that impossible question, “what must I do to get into heaven?”

Even “religious” folks might ponder questions like: “How often do I need to go to church to be considered righteous?”; “How much money do I need to tithe or give to charity?”; “How kind do I really have to be to others?”; “How many times should I be forgiving?”; “What happens when I give in to temptation?”; “How many sins are too many?”, or “At what point do I cross the line of sin?”
These questions are what many, even Christians struggle with today, and I would argue that these questions are what the Law of the Old Testament or even the general moral law of humanity causes people to wrestle with, wondering how bad is too bad, or how much good is good enough for God.

It is a sad struggle indeed, but I will suggest to you again today, that the reason Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year because that’s when everything changed. For the Christian, Christmas communicates now a radically different message, a freeing message, because Christmas reminds us again that Jesus (the Christ) fulfills all the Laws for us when we turn to Him now in faith. Christmas says to the Christian that we no longer need to be “slaves to the Law”. We no longer fret the “works-based” mental and spiritual struggle, hoping we’ve been “good enough” for God. That instead, we can choose to become adopted sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father, hairs to the throne, heavenly bound, only because of what Jesus Christ, the Perfect Savior did when He paid the fine for all our sin on the cross at Calvary. I pray you understand this.. I pray you believe this, and if you haven’t yet, I pray you choose Jesus Christ this Christmas. Give yourself that wonderful and everlasting gift of salvation, Amen?

So that is “the why” of our Christian faith. That is the summary why the Old Testament Law of Moses was necessary and important, because it makes us understand that we are incapable of getting to heaven on our own. We are not, nor ever will be righteous enough on our own, we are all sinners that need a Savior. And that Savior, in Jesus Christ, has come. Merry Christmas child of God.

So now what? Understanding that we are heavenly bound. Understanding that we are free from the Laws because of Christ. How then shall we choose to live?
For that answer, let us look a little into the character of Jesus the Christ himself.

You might recall that at this past Wednesday’s church family gathering, the message was about humility. Then, and I don’t think it was a coincidence that at the men’s group this past Thursday, the men went in deep again into the topic of being humble. In that, let me suggest that Jesus is the perfect example for us of what a humble servant looks like. I think you would agree He is much worthy for us to consider emulating, especially in regards to being a humble Servant Leader. In the New Testament, Jesus gave us so many excellent examples of humility in His short-lived life and ministry. In each of the Gospels, Matthew 20:28, Mark 10:45, Luke 22:27, John 13:15 there is a version of Jesus saying himself that “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Jesus Christ was truly a most humble servant-leader.

The Apostle Paul also rendered some instructions about this humble character in Philippians 2:5-7. [SLIDE] He wrote, “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness”.

So, the Son of God was made like us. He was born of a woman like us, He had a mom just like you and I did. God “in the flesh” entered into our human existence, breathed our air, walked our ground, ate our food, cried our tears. He came here to live and to experience life just like we do. Not for His sake, but for our sake.
Each year at Christmastime we are reminded that when Jesus entered the world, He came humbly into a place that had some of the smelliest, filthiest and most uncomfortable conditions imaginable. Jesus set His majesty aside for a time and completely humbled Himself on our behalf. And because of that, He was obliged like everyone else back then to keep all the Old Testament covenant Laws. He wasn’t exempt from it or somehow given a privileged status because He was the Son of God. Instead He willingly and perfectly kept all those laws. Unlike us, He did everything right. He always obeyed; He was always honest, and He always loved others and Father God. He was the perfect, humble and sacrificial Lamb.

About that, in 1 Peter 2:22 the Apostle wrote: “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” When they hurled their insults at him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He did not fight back. Instead, He entrusted Himself wholly to Father God who judges righly. Scripture says “He himself bore our sins” on His body and on that cross, so that we might later have the opportunity to choose to die to our sins and live in His righteousness. And now “by his wounds you have been healed.” For “you were once like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls”. [SLIDE]

In Hebrews 4:15 the author writes, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin”.  Every temptation you have felt is something that Jesus also felt. He’s been there, He stood where you’ve stood, faced what you’ve faced, and He understands what we are going through now. But where you and I so easily give in to temptations, He withstood them. He passed the test. There was never a moment where Jesus compromised His character, never a moment where He fell and sinned. Instead He lived the perfect life that you and I never could. And He did that for you and for me.

His divine purpose for doing all this is also spelled out for us in John 3:17-18, [SLIDE] “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son”.
And that is what is so truly wonderful about this Christmas time we celebrate, that the Son of God, Jesus Christ, has come here not to condemn us, but to save us! God’s message of Christmas says that you no longer have to be a slave to your sin, because Jesus paid it all on that Cross with His crucificition.

There is a five-dollar phrase called Substitutionary Atonement. What that means is Jesus substituted or exchanged His righteousness for our sin, so that you and I can now become Father God’s adopted children, because all of the Law has been satisfied by the Son of God Himself. And in that I say agin “Thank You Jesus!”

So, as we prepare to close here today, I pray you will agree with me, that Jesus’s birth, His life, His mission and His purpose, are much worthy of our recognition. When we celebrate Christmas, it effectively proclaims again the Good News, or should I say the Great News, that you and I have a Father GOD and Savior who was willing to do all that for you and for me. For He loves you so.

The question now before you is this, will you continue to live your life in that enslaving and a vicious cycle of trying to do enough “good things” to make God happy, trying to prove yourself to Him and earn your own way into heaven?
Or, will you surrender all your efforts to Him, realizing that Jesus Christ is all you really need. Put your faith in Jesus. Make this Christmas time before us truly special and turn to Him now in faith.

Christmas is The Most Wonderful time of the year. But it isn’t about the presents that might be sitting underneath your tree. It isn’t about the pretty decorations or Christmas lights all in themselves. But they represent something that is very precious, that Jesus truly is the light of the world. And God loves you dear Orion First Baptist church. Just knowing that should make all the difference..
Would you please now stand and pray with me as we close.