Living Word Live! The Nativity We See & The One We Don't

There's one thing that I don't think is in anyone's nativity set, and that's a dragon. But according to the Bible, to the passage that was read earlier, there absolutely was one. Because Christmas is not just about what was happening or what had happened in Bethlehem. It's also about what was happening in the spiritual realm, in the invisible realm. And we don't talk about the spiritual realm enough in the church, I don't think. [00:42:56] (37 seconds)  #BeyondTheManger

When we come upon the Christmas scene, we need two sets of eyes for it. One for the things that you can see, and one for the things that heaven sees. Revelation 12 does that for us. It gives us kind of an x-ray of Christmas. It lets us look behind the scenes. And that happens, or scholars say that that happened on the night that Jesus was born. [00:44:31] (32 seconds)  #LookWithHeavensEyes

So while the shepherds saw a peaceful night, quiet with angels singing, heaven saw a battlefield. The example of that is, you remember in the Christmas story shortly after Jesus' birth, with Herod's rage, when he tries to kill every baby boy under two years old? That wasn't just political fear that this boy was going to one day be the king. It was a spiritual battle, spiritual warfare. [00:46:11] (34 seconds)  #HeavenlyBattlefield

Because, the enemy knows one thing that we tend not to talk about. He knows that he can't stop God's plan. But he will do everything that he can to delay, to destroy, distract, or devour. But as I was looking at this passage, I understood something else, too. No one, not Noah or Moses or David, could defeat sin, could defeat death, could defeat the devil. See, we, as humans, humanity keeps looking for a human hero. But I think Christmas is God saying to us, You can stop looking. I'm going to send my son. [00:48:29] (56 seconds)  #UnstoppableGodsPlan

I also think it's interesting, because the enemy didn't see this one coming. That the king arrives in a way that no one expected. This is the plot twist that only God could write. He doesn't come, you know, with a sword or riding on a battle horse. He doesn't come with armies. He came as a baby. Born of a virgin in Isaiah and in Luke. Isaiah prophesying it. Luke describing it. He came into Bethlehem, a little redneck town. [00:49:26] (48 seconds)  #UnexpectedKing

Why sacrifice moves us. Why, redemption stories make us cry. Why, some of us, those of you who have hearts, we love tales where darkness loses and light wins. And the reason for that is because deep down in our hearts, we know that the world is broken. Romans 8, 20 and 22 tells us that. And we know we can't fix it. But God can. [00:52:02] (33 seconds)  #LightWinsEveryTime

Another gift that Jesus gives is friendship. Jesus didn't save us from afar. He came down. He came close. The angel told Joseph that his name would be Emmanuel, which means God with us. In Matthew chapter 1, he calls us friends. In John 15.15. What does that mean? When he looks at the disciples and he calls them friends. Well, that means that prayer is no longer a ritual. It's a relationship that we have with someone who calls us friends, who just happens to be the God of the universe. It means that it's a conversation of the soul. [00:54:21] (47 seconds)  #EmmanuelIsFriend

Another gift that he brings is forgiveness. This is the Christmas mission. See, Jesus doesn't conquer Satan by force. He conquers him through sacrificial love. Hebrews 2.14 tells us that. And some translations are really hard to understand. But basically he says he shared in our humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death. Meaning Satan. He was the only one who could do that. On the cross he took our sin from us. He bore the curse that has existed since Adam. He died our death. Romans 6.23 And he rose again. Christmas is God saying this. You're forgiven. You can be forgiven completely. Totally. Forever. [00:55:49] (65 seconds)  #ForgivenForever