Jesus, Lord, At Thy BirthReverend Anthony R.

Locke
December 19th, 2010 www.FirstPresTucker.org
at the First Presbyterian Church of Tucker
Luke 2:8-11 4th Sunday of Advent with Baptism English Standard
Version
8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their
flock by night.
9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around
them, and they were filled with fear.
10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy
that will be for all the people.
1
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
This week Tuesday is the Winter Solstice. The days are short, the nights are long, and
there is more darkness than light.
And every year during this darkest of weeks, the world celebrates the entrance of
eternal light with the Birth of the Christ Child.
Jesus is the God of light, and in Him is no darkness at all.
1. Jesus is our light and our salvation; whom shall we fear? The LORD Jesus is the
strength of our life; of whom shall we be afraid? Psalm 27:1
2. Jesus is a blazing glory, a devouring flame of holiness, the burning bush and
the pillar of fire. Jesus is the glory of God that manifest itself in the temple over the
mercy seat. Jesus is Light.
Jesus is God manifest in the flesh.
1. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God: the Nicene Creed declares.
2. 1 Timothy 3:16 says that God was manifested in the flesh. That‟s Jesus.
Jesus shares the same essence as the Father who is God.
1. God never changes: Malachi 3:6 For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of
Jacob are not consumed.
Jesus never changes: Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for
ever.
1. The Father is holy and Jesus is holy.
2. The Father is everlasting and Jesus is everlasting: Micah 5:2 But thou, Bethlehem
Ephratah…out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel;whose
goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

1 The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.
3. The Father has life in Himself. John 1:4 Jesus has life in Himself; and the life was the
light of men.
Jesus shares the same role as Father God.
1. The Father is the one and only Great Judge of all things, yet the Father . . . hath
committed all judgment unto the Son. John 5:22
2. The Father and the Son are both Savior. Isaiah 43:11 I, I am the Lord, and besides me
there is no Savior. John 4:42 the Christ is the Savior of the World.
3. The Father initiates the Creation, yet Jesus is Creator. Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God
created the heaven and the earth. Colossians 1:16 by Jesus were all things created, that
are in heaven, and that are in earth…all things were created by him, and for him.
Jesus is Lord at His birth for He is God in the flesh. This is our creed, our confession
and the simplest common denominator of all Christians the world over.
Matthew 1:23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his
name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).
God the Son was born into humanity to show us God the Father. John 14:8-9Philip said
to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been
with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the
Father. How can you say, „Show us the Father‟?
Do we desire to be reconciled with our heavenly Father? Then we must place our faith
in the Christ Child. He is God come down.
How do we become reconciled? Isaiah 40:3 A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare
the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. We remove unbelief
from the road. We straighten our mind about Jesus. By faith we see in the manger the Lord
Jesus Christ.
We prepare by believing the prophesies: Isaiah 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son
is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
That‟s the true nature of the child who is born. If we believe this then we will be saved.
Colossians 1:15-17 Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all
creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him
and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
A right understanding of the Baby in the manger is the beginning of saving faith. We
profess with our mind, our heart and our lips that Jesus is Lord. Lord of the creation, Lord
over angels. Lord over demons. Lord over death and hell. Lord over our future, Lord of our
broken past. Jesus is Lord of all.
We do not make Jesus Lord by obedience to His commands. The glorification of Jesus
as Lord is not up to us. God the Father glorifies Jesus as Lord of all.
 And Jesus is Lord at His birth because He is God. Jesus made all things so He is Lord
over all things. Jesus is the redeemer of all things broken. Jesus is healer, redeemer and
friend.
Is Jesus your friend? He wants to be. Jesus came to earth to shed His blood to redeem
the creation back to God. Jesus wants to redeem you back to the Father. The Father loves
you enough to send His only Begotten Son to die for your offenses that you might be
adopted into the family of God.
Jesus is the healer of hearts. Psalm 103:4-5 who redeems your life from the pit, who
crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is
renewed like the eagle‟s.
Jesus is Lord over the trouble in your life and with His glory can transform your life
into something beautiful.
Christmas would be a wonderful time to begin making your confession of faith in Jesus
Christ as your Lord.
Confessing Jesus means to commit total control of your life to Christ. You give him the
ownership of your life. He becomes your new boss. If you confess Jesus as Lord of your life,
the Bible says you will be saved.
Romans 10:9-10 If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your
heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
The following prayer is one you can say right now to confess Jesus as Lord and ask
Him to save you. Bow your heads and let‟s pray this in our hearts together.
Heavenly Father, I understand that Jesus is the Holy God of all the creation,
born to save me from my sin. I am not holy. I can’t go to heaven on my own merit
or according to my own good works. Please forgive me of my sins and give me
faith in Jesus. I believe Jesus died and rose again for my sins. I confess Jesus
Christ as Lord and Savior of my life. Thank You for saving me. In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
Here is the promise in scripture for those who place their faith in Jesus.
1 John 5:11-13 And the witness is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life
is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does
not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of
God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life.
And for those of us who repent and ask for God‟s forgiveness, for those of us who
believe that Jesus is God in the flesh, come to redeem us back to the Father, for us this
Christmas can be filled with great joy.
We can be filled with the joy of Christmas that breaks forth with the angels and sings,
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is
pleased!” Luke 2:14.
 We can bless God with Mary who said,“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit
rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold,
from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things
for me, and holy is his name, Luke 1:46-49.
We can join Zechariah and declare, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has
visited and redeemed his people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of
his servant David, as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, that we should
be saved from our enemies.
When by the Holy Spirit we say with persevering faith that Jesus is Lord, we become
filled with enabling boldness of conviction to share the truth about the person of Jesus. We
join saints like Simeon who said, “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,
according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the
presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people
Israel.” Luke 2:29-33
Christmas should infuse back into our bones the most basic truths of the Christian faith:
that Jesus is God wrapped in Human flesh, come to save his people from their sins.
If we embrace this truth afresh then the Christmas lights will be a welcome reminder of
the light of God that brightened up this dark world on Christmas Eve many years ago. Each
Christmas present will be a reminder of the gift of God the Father and that whosoever
believes in Jesus will not perish but have everlasting life.
This Tuesday is the Winter Solstice. It is the darkest day of the year. But this year the
event also includes a full lunar eclipse (December 2010). A lunar eclipse happens when the
Earth gets between the Moon and the Sun. The last time a lunar eclipse and the Winter
Solstice happened together was in 1554 when Mary Queen of Scots, or better known as
Bloody Mary, tried to stop the light of Jesus from shining in Great Britain.
The Devil would love to get the things of this Earth to stop the light of Jesus from
shinning on your heart this Christmas.
Just like the Sun, Jesus is blazing His eternal light. He never stops. It is a constant
blazing glory. During a lunar eclipse the Earth gets in the way and the moon turns dark.
Your life can stay dark too if you let earthly things block the glory of Jesus from
lighting up your life.
May this Christmas be different. May we all turn our eyes upon Jesus, let his love fill
our hearts and homes, and join the rest of the creation in singing the songs of Christmas.
Join with the saints in glory and sing, “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive
glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and
were created,” Revelation 4:11.
May the Lord Jesus shine upon you this Christmas and renew your faith that God was born
into this world that we might be saved.
Amen.