Christmas-The Right Reason - Part A

Certainly, Jesus is the answer to the longing of mankind that were awfully squarely about presenting him sometimes we don't always get it right because sometimes we even forget that the Bible have one central theme that is Jesus Christ largely celebrates Christmas for secular and materialistic reasons. But today on connect with Skip Heitzig Scriptures the right reason for celebrating Christmas and how it impacts your life. Significant know what to tell you about a resource that will help your relationship with God as you apply his word in real-life ways. 19 pandemic has caused the reevaluation of priorities like choices and the path forward this question might want out of life care Skip HiTec with thoughts on priorities. Don't we all want the life with a happy ending a life marked by growth life marked by productivity and refreshment in God's touch of blessing and prosperity and maturity.

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Tags along call 892 1888 to give or connectwithskip.com. Galatians chapter 4 today as we get into the teaching with Skip Heitzig. For those of us have been raised in a church brought up in Sunday school.

Perhaps for that type of a person. There's an understanding that Jesus is the focal point. The central reason for the season back. He is the answer to everything we tell people is much we say just keep your eyes on Jesus.

Just follow him to Celine Harding to him just look to Jesus is the answer to it all. There was teacher who was teaching her Sunday school class. Four-year-olds and she thought she would engage the class and participation so she was teaching on Noah's Ark and she said kids I'm good. Describe something to you and you tell me what it is. So she began she said I'm furry. I have a fluffy tail. I like to climb trees. No answer. In the class that silence. Not a kid raised her hand so she continued okay I like to eat nuts, especially acorns.

Nothing that silence so she got okay I'm gray or brown, sometimes even black or red, not a child spoke up. She was frustrated at this point turned a perky four-year-old neighbor challenges that come on Michelle you know this is Michelle said yeah.

I think the answer is supposed to be Jesus but it sure sounds like a squirrel to me.

Poor little girl thought every question had to have the answer Jesus to certainly Jesus is the answer to the longing of mankind but were awfully squarely about presenting him sometimes we don't always get it right because sometimes we even forget that the Bible has but one central theme and that is Jesus Christ. Think about it. In the Old Testament.

The Old Testament promises him in the New Testament. The first four Gospels Matthew Mark Luke and John present Christ in the book of acts Christ is preached in the epistles. Another word for the letters of Paul, John, Peter, etc. crisis pondered following the book of Revelation Christ is predicted. It's all about him from cover to cover before a lot of people. It's like going to a play and getting there late when it comes to reading the Bible and understanding the story.

If you picture the Bible as part one and two is a two-part playback, the Old Testament and the New Testament. People they read the Bible. They just read the New Testament. They open the book and it's sort of like going to a play late. Not having seen the first act so you get your seat back to begins and you begin to make a perfect nuisance of yourself as you ask people around you know who's that person and what that statement mean and what is that person referring to. You missed all the salient information that would have been given to you.

Had you been in act one. So now you're a bit lost and you need some catching up and we talk about price, we have to understand that it all deals with him in some form or fashion, but to do many people opening the Bible is like being stuck in a jungle without any roads.

They open the book and their confused immediately.

They see no road, no Ryan, no reason, no familiar path going anywhere just disconnected phrases, enigmatic statements and they really see not having any form. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Bible is a seamless revelation. It's a very staged and coherent story and it all makes sense when you give Jesus his rightful place. Paul said to the Colossians that in all things Christ might have the preeminence.

The apostle Paul in the book of Ephesians said that God works all things to the counsel of his own will work. The Bible is not haphazard.

It's not disconnected it's not some amorphous massive ideas flung together by a bunch of guys throughout history, one who said here's a poem let's put this in the book there is a cool story I heard. Let's put that in the book, far from being that is the revelation of a God who is orchestrating all things according to the purpose of his own well so we have for the last few weeks been considering Christmas and the first week we talked about Christmas. The right season.

We worked off the phrase in verse four, in the fullness of the time.

We discussed what that meant was just the right time. Culturally, politically and spiritually prophetically the second week we looked at Christmas.

The right person that the one I got sent into the world was his own son having his own nature deity God in the human body, born of a woman, born under the law as the hymn writer, and Hark the Herald Angels wrote veiled in flash the Godhead see hail incarnate deity. Paul would've said amen to that Christmas Carol.

That's who it is. But now we consider Christmas the right reason.

What's the whole purpose of it all. What's the whole reason all of that for what verse five tells us. Galatians chapter 4 to redeem, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons, as we told you the last couple weeks. I decided this Christmas to not spend a whole lot of time on mangers or shepherds or angels stars. A wise man all that's good and we done that in depth in the past but to go a little bit deeper to really understand the Christmas story from I believe the perspective of the whole Bible and from the view of God because for many people Christmas order seems out of place.

Go back to people who read the Bible and find it a jungle for a lot of people Christmas the whole baby in a manger thing seems out of place in the Bible you got creation and you got law you got poetry and got profits you got more profits and then suddenly baby gets more and everybody makes a big to do out of the baby, leaving some people to scratch their heads and go I don't get how it all fits. Certainly the manger scene the baby born seems to most people to be disconnected from real life from their life. After all, this is a different culture a different time, thousands of years of past I'm working on paying my rent on raising my kids on saving up for college and then once a year. Everything stops and we celebrated baby and then after that we go back to our here so 12 months go by. We drag up the box of the Christmas tree in the decorations and dust off the manger and put it up and plug in the lights and pay the extra electric bill and then when it's all over would take it down, put in the box, put back in the garage and wait for 12 months. So were left wondering why what's the purpose what's the reason what's the hoop law. What's the to do so we can consider was the right season.

It was the right person, but what was the reason in verse five tells us to redeem those who were under the law, to break it up this morning. First of all I want you to consider with me the history of this reason this reason does have history now if you don't understand the history of this reason you will not understand the Bible you will not understand Christmas unless you understand the history of the reason for this. I just want you to notice what Paul does in verse five he says, to redeem those who were under the law. That's past tense. He's reaching back to the past that we in the present might receive adoption as sons we compares past history with present reality. He's been reaching back if you were to read Galatians 1, two and three and I really trust you to do that later on today to get the full picture.

Paul is talking about Jewish law on the promises of Abraham and all of that stuff how it comes to fulfillment, and he says this is who we were. This is who we are all about history mean something to us now so we have a question Christmas start. What was the origin of it were what was its true beginning. Was it in the manger that when Christmas began. Was it in the manger. When Joseph and Mary brought forth their son, Jesus, and laid them there. Later on, the animals came by and shepherds gathered round and star shone overhead and somebody walked up and said that is the perfect declaration I can make some money for this or did Christmas began when the angel made the announcement over the skies of Bethlehem and he said to those few shepherds I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be for all people, for under you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord is at the beginning of it or do we go back a bit further say to the prophet Isaiah inspired by God to write what we called every time the season approaches. Isaiah 96 for unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, the government will be upon his shoulders. His name will be wonderful Counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of peace. Predicting him is that when Christmas began or do we go back had a little bit further say to the time of Moses in Deuteronomy 18 when he predicted that another prophet would be coming another set one would be coming and to him you must listen follow all day were to Christmas begin will actually we have to go all the way back to the very first book of the Bible. The first few chapters of your to turn there because you know the story I'm just to recap for where to go back to the creation God created the heavens and the earth, and when he did after every creation. He said it is what is good and what was all done he said it's very good flexing. I'm really stumped on this. This is awesome this is good, very man and woman were placed in dominion over the earth to represent God, the first man and first woman were direct creations of God in a very real sense sons or children of the living God.

They had an intimacy with him a fellowship with the Bible tells us that God was looking for Adam in the cool of the day walking in the cool of the day suggesting they probably took a walk often together in fellowship as Genesis 1 and two we come Genesis. All changes all caves in.

There's a rebellion the rebel against their creator. They disobey his directives and they become alienated from God and they knew it because they ran in the opposite direction. And so God push them out of the garden, putting an angel with the sword so they couldn't get back in less they eat of the tree of life and live forever in that condition without any another alienated from God. Now fellowship is broken so were reading this in Genesis 3 and and we positively think okay now what Scott going to do now he's left with the dam to creation a doomed creation. The children have rebelled a fallen to the dark side what's cognitive what is God prepared to do to fix all this to restore all this to redeem if anything while we keep reading in chapter 3 of Genesis, God makes the announcement to Satan. I will put enmity between you and the woman between your seed and her seed.

In other words, Satan. You and your offspring are to have conflict with the offspring of the woman that's the prediction at that point we don't exactly know what he means. Because seed can be either singular or plural to refer to one or many silica okay there's a prediction basically says you're going to get into a war. Satan in your to be the ultimate loser because he gets now very specific list.

I will put enmity between you and the woman between your seed and her seed he shall bruise your head, you shall bruise his heel. Now we have more information. Now we know that the meaning of seed doesn't mean descendents plural, but a singular descendent. A man will be born of a woman who will crush Satan's head. By the way, that's how the NI the NLT says of the new living translation says he the seed of the woman will crush your head sounds very Mafia, and professional school I logout style here so he predicts that a man will be born to crush Satan's dominion his head. His authority and he himself will receive a temporary wound.

The bruising of the heel okay so we read that an history continues. We keep reading, and we find that we come to the great flood that destroys the world except from the people, a people. Noah and his family. So now the possibilities of that seed being fulfilled is greatly reduced to only eight survivors, we discover that Noah has three sons, one of them is named Shem and one of the descendents of Shem is a guy by the name of Abraham we discover that in Genesis chapter 12 and God makes the promise to Abraham through you. Abraham through your seed all the nations of the world will be blessed so the promise goes from Adam through Noah through Shem to Abraham. Keep reading. The promises then repeated to Abraham's second son, not first son Ishmael second son Isaac in Genesis 26 verse four. Keep reading. The promises then repeated to Isaac's second son, Jacob. Genesis 28 verse 14. Keep reading all the way through Genesis 2 to the very end of the book chapter 49 verse 10, the promise goes to Jacob's fourth son by his wife Leah named Jacob and Serna, Jacob, Judah, the tribe of Judah sober following the lineage down the promise, all the way to the tribe of Judah. We keep reading. As history goes by all the way to second Samuel chapter 7 there's a guy by the name of King David. God says your descendent will sit upon the throne of David and rule forever and ever. So that's the lineage that's the history that's the promise over still waiting for the fulfillment until we get to chapter 1 Matt now we open the New Testament and this is how it begins. Listen, the book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Abraham begat Isaac Isaac begot Jacob Jacob he got Judah is following the same track of the promise, verse 16, Matthew one, Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ, so the promises made in Genesis 315 Jesus Christ gets born as a fulfillment of that promise sent to engage in conflict with Satan. The final result will be his.

Satan's final overthrow in the End of Days but between then and then is now, and Paul would say all of that is good. We can see the results of that right here right now were son ship that was lost is restored. Now we come to Galatians how we come to Galatians I want to look at Galatians chapter 3 I'm backing into our text is on the tae bo wanted all Galatians 3 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us, for it is written, cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith brother and I speak in the manner of men.

It's only a man's covenant. Get up if it's confirmed no one, and those are asked to now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made.

He does not say into seeds as of many, but as of one into your seed, who is Christ. Other words the coming seed. He says, is Jesus Christ the fulfillment of the promise. That's not without price for Satan would bruise his heel. That means a temporary wound would be sustained by Jesus Christ. No doubt, speaking of his death on the cross, Jesus died on the cross, but he rose from the dead, and his resurrection from the dead would strike the fatal blow to the head, the authority, the dominion of Satan. Now go down a few verses chapter 3 Galatians look at verse 26 because it sums it up for you this for you are all sons of God through faith in Jesus Christ. There is there is paradise regained.

We are sons of God.

Again, what was lost in Adam is regained in Christ who died the sinners death and rose to conquer death. When God originally created man, he created us to be sons. We became slaves. He said the promised seed so that we could gain son ship again, is the point of the passage.

Okay now we go back to Galatians chapter 4 will be started last week and the week before and I know we read it all in context.

We didn't tie it all together now retired altogether. Galatians for now I say that the air as long as he is a child does not differ at all from a slave, though he is the master of all but is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father.

It's a very simple illustration they would familiar with. You might have a child in a family and that child is the heir of everything that is in that family, the heir of the estate. He might have few million dollars in the bank but as a child. One day he's gonna get it all. But right now while he's a child he's no different from a slave in that he's under authority is controlled by others. He's commanded he's reprimanded. He's instructed to obey. He's made to conform like a slave. Until that day. Set by his dad where his dad would confer upon him adulthood and he would go from that child status as a slave to an adult son that the Romans and their culture. The father could set the date arbitrarily whenever he felt like it between a certain age in a certain age you could say that's the day I set Jewish dads were more restricted. There was a specific day that they would follow when it was the 13th birthday of the boy first Sabbath after the boys 13th birthday was the voice bar mitzvah bar mitzvah means son of the commandment skintight message from the series right now want to share about an exciting offer to do you have to take your knowledge of God's word even deeper. If you're ready to study God's word beyond going to church or personal Bible study ready for Calvin College thinker in your life's purpose to the next level with of education is biblical studies registration for the 4022 spring term is over noise. Now classes have an on-site Calvary church Albuquerque and online classes like biblical counsel. A study of the end times in the history of authenticity of the five worst theological studies is a doctoral man, sin and salvation, college partners with Veritas international University and Charlie Chaplin University.

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