Because of Jesus’ Birth: Our Call to Glorify God

Here's the thing, that Jesus cried is so important to us. Do you all know that? The fact that this little baby, that our Lord became flesh and was this little baby, and that he cried? Because that shows that he was really a human. That's important. Jesus really, he wasn't just this God pretending to be a human. It wasn't God dressed up like a human. God really became a human and really cried, and that's so important. [00:47:10] (25 seconds)  #IncarnationInTears

Think about this as well. That crying when Jesus was cold or tired or hungry or he needed a change. Maybe I shouldn't talk about that with Jesus, but he would have cried. But that also shows that he really suffered. And think about how important it is for us that Jesus actually suffered. That's how Jesus saved us, by his suffering. His crying was actually, that's what our salvation sounded like when that little baby cried. That was us being saved. [00:47:35] (35 seconds)  #SalvationInHisSuffering

As a matter of fact, God arranged it so that the most powerful empire in the world, Rome, and the most powerful person in the world, Caesar Augustus, without even knowing it, Caesar issued a decree that caused one of God's prophecies to be fulfilled. You know that our rulers, the people who are very powerful, they're in the hand of God. God is using them in ways that not even they realize. They think that they're in charge, but actually God is the one in charge. [00:52:14] (33 seconds)  #GodInControlOfHistory

If you've ever made a decision to follow Christ, or maybe it's when you became a Christian, or maybe you've been a Christian, and God has asked you to kind of step it up to the next level, whatever that looks like at different times in your life. If you've ever done that, then you probably know that it's true that once you decide to be obedient to God, it's very likely that you're going to encounter some challenges right away. [00:53:07] (32 seconds)  #ObedienceBringsChallenges

So when you encounter challenges in your life, when you're trying to obey God and you encounter these challenges, be aware that God may be doing something that is really, really invisible to us, but also really, really impressive and important and powerful, just like God was doing by arranging for this couple to be in Bethlehem to fulfill His prophecy. [00:54:21] (24 seconds)  #InvisibleGodAtWork

What that means is in heaven, when it says in the highest, like in the highest places, in heaven where God is, glory to God. Jesus' birth brings glory to God in heaven. Glory is an interesting word. It can refer to light or brightness. And when it says the angel appears and the glory of God shone all around, that's referring to this brightness of it. But glory also refers to God's reputation, like God's impressive reputation. What this angel says here is glory. This reflects well on God. God is to be glorified. [01:05:00] (39 seconds)  #GloryRevealsGod

We're to say great things about God and acknowledge how incredibly good and awesome and powerful and just and all those things we love about God. This event helps us to realize these things. And even in heaven, God is being glorified because of the birth of this baby. Glory to God in the highest. And on earth, so in heaven, glory to God. And on earth, peace. So Jesus' birth brings glory to God in heaven. And on earth, it brings peace among humans, among mankind. [01:05:40] (45 seconds)  #GloryInHeavenPeaceOnEarth

So how do the humans respond? We saw what the angels did. Glory to God in the highest. They praised God. God, this is incredible. How do the humans in the story respond to the baby being born? Two different responses that are really closely related. Mary thinks about it. Mary reflects on it. This is something that's significant. It's probably going to take her some real time to figure out what's going on here. At least to fully appreciate it. And the shepherds are glorifying and praising God, just like God is glorified in heaven according to the angels. [01:08:27] (34 seconds)  #PonderAndPraise