Luke 2:1-21(NIV):
The Birth of Jesus
2 In
those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the
entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place
while[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And
everyone went to their own town to register.
4 So
Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem
the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He
went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was
expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the
baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She
wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest
room available for them.
8 And
there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their
flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the
glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But
the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will
cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a
Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This
will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a
manger.”
13 Suddenly
a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and
saying,
14
“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth
peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
15 When
the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one
another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the
Lord has told us about.”
16 So
they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the
manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning
what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it
were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary
treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The
shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had
heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
21 On
the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus,
the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.
This passage is
titled the Birth of Jesus. To birth means to emerge. And here the verse is
titled the birth of Jesus-meaning the emergence of Christ, the start of His
physical presence on Earth.
And in those
days, Caesar issued a decree for a census and everyone went to their own town
to register. And this is why Joseph went to Nazareth because he belonged to the
house and line of David-whenever the LORD wants to bring something powerful
forth, He will cause all things to fall in alignment.
And that is why
Joseph went with Mary his pregnant fiancée and while they were there, it was
time for the baby to be born. And this was when Jesus was born. He was born in
a manger-because there was no guest room available. Even the LORD was separated
from birth-when we come to Christ-we are born again-we are spiritually
separated from our environment. We are birthed in His humility by the power and
presence of His Spirit:
John 3:5New International Version (NIV)
5 Jesus
answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless
they are born of water and the Spirit.
The LORD was
wrapped in cloths and placed in a manger-the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Its interesting that the first group of people we are introduced to after this
scene, are the shepherds; the LORD is a shepherd to His people:
John 10:27New International Version (NIV)
27 My
sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
Hence it is no
coincidence that shepherds were the first to hear this message from an angel of
the LORD. But they were on duty
shepherds-they were watching over their flock. Are you watching over the
flock the LORD has given you charge over? Are you divinely positioned to
receive a personal message from the King as these men were? Notice it was at night. It is important to stay in the
place of purpose-even when you are tired.
Remember:
Philippians 4:13New International Version
(NIV)
13 I
can do all this through him who gives me strength.
And they were given His strength-they were
shepherds-when we stay in position, and in alignment with the LORD, we are
ready to receive instruction as these men heard from the angel of the LORD.
Notice when the
angel appeared , the glory of the LORD shone around them-and they were
terrified. When the LORD speaks, His glory will shine on you: we are a
reflection of His glory:
2 Corinthians 3:18New International
Version (NIV)
18 And
we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate[a]
the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing
glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
We know Him and
can see Him because we are His children. This
is why the Word, says with unveiled faces
we are able to contemplate his glory-and as a result are transformed into
His image. When the LORD wants to elevate you, because you have not despised
the days of small beginnings ( Zechariah 4:10) but have remained faithful in
the place of assignment and purpose-His glory will shine on you. It does not
mean you do not have fear-just that you walk in faith.
And when you
stay committed, in your position, you will receive divine information and
instruction to cause you to move forward. The shepherds received information
about the LORD and the angel gave them a sign of where to find Him.
And as soon as
he finished with this instruction, the Word says suddenly, a great company of
heavenly host appeared with the angel and began to sing praises. It was a
celebration-the Savior was born.
This can be
correlated to when we are born again-it is a celebration:
Luke 15:7New International Version (NIV)
7 I
tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one
sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to
repent.
Also, He was
conceived by the power of the Spirit, as we are born again by the Spirit:
Luke 1:35New International Version (NIV)
35 The
angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most
High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[a] the Son of God.
When we come
into the kingdom we become co-heirs with Christ-through Him we are part of the
promise, but also part of the suffering-we are different, we are separate. This
information was not made known publicly it was a spiritual secret-a spiritual
revelation.
Notice the
shepherds said they would go and see what the LORD had told them about.
Now, what has
the LORD told you about? What signs has He given you? What instructions has He
whispered into your spirit
Let me explain
something important here-when the LORD speaks for you to move, He is calling
you to move in alignment with His revelation for you life-and the LORD has
already gone ahead of you-and will be waiting for you there:
Exodus 23:20New International Version
(NIV)
God’s Angel to Prepare the Way
20 “See,
I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you
to the place I have prepared.
So have you gone
to see where the LORD has sent you? Have you gone to witness His presence?
These shepherds were sent to the manger of Christ. And there is something
important here-He will not send one that is not His own. As sheep of the LORD,
we are given authority and power and sent to a position that is saturated with
the presence of the LORD-the shepherd’s were sent to the manger.
And they did not
waste time-they hurried off and what happened? They found Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus who was lying in the manger. In
the exact position the angel had stated-because he had said you will find a
baby lying in a manger.
The LORD is
specific when He is instructing you to move-and you will find whatever it is He has sent you to receive when you move in
accordance to His instruction and stay in His will.
And when they
had seen Him, they spread the message-when you see Him, you are supposed to
spread the message:
Mark 16:15New International Version (NIV)
15 He said to them, “Go into all the world
and preach the gospel to all creation.
And all who heard the message were amazed-the same way:
Acts 13:48New International Version (NIV)
48 When
the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and
all who were appointed for eternal life believed.
There is timing
in the things of the LORD-there is an appointment-once you see Him, speak and share what He has told you:
Matthew 10:27New International Version
(NIV)
27 What
I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear,
proclaim from the roofs.
And once the
shepherds returned, they glorified and praised God-do you glorify and praise
God for the things He has made manifest in your life after He has shown them to
you? This is extremely important to do-to have an attitude of gratitude and
praise.
And the Lord was
named Jesus-as He has always been:
John 1:1New International Version (NIV)
The Word Became Flesh
1 In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
And this is why
as the LORD is, so are when we are born in the Spirit-we have an identity, we
have purpose which is why the word know is in past tense in Jeremiah because He
has known us before we were even formed:
Jeremiah 1:5New International Version
(NIV)
5
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew[a] you,
before you were
born I set you apart;
I appointed you
as a prophet to the nations.”
And this is the
power of salvation we have received in Christ-the miracle of His presence in
our lives. When we are born again, we receive this spiritual awakening and inheritance
because of Him who came to pay the price for our sins and reconcile us to the
LORD.
Have a lovely
Christmas. And cherish the significance of this season, a time to celebrate the
One that brought us into the presence of the LORD, and enabled us to receive spiritual
awakening in His name through the cleansing of our sins.
Amen.
And to tie this
all in into my own life, because I believe in the gift of transparency, to show
you that there is a better path on the other side of obedience, I cannot
emphasize enough the benefits that flow from following the LORD’s instruction
in this regard. It is so important to follow Him in every manner and way He
speaks to you but we seem to become attached in the realm of relationships and
it can become a hindrance. The LORD works mightily in my life from 2014 when I
suffered loss till this day and every time He spoke to me about people or
places or circumstances and I obeyed, I have become stronger and grown closer
to Him as a result-it has released more blessings into my life because I obeyed
Him. I’ve moved much farther than I could have ever seen or moved on my own in
the past year simply because I have chosen to listen and obey Him. There are enormous blessings that flow from
obedience. Don’t miss them because of whoever! They cannot come with you to
where you are going-their time is done in your life so let them go! You have to
move forward-time is moving-we are in 2016-do you want to remain in the same position?
If not, you have to do something
different-so let go.
