Lots of Space, But No Room

Recent shopping, let's pause to reflect on why we do Christmas in the first during this holiday season take a few minutes with Erwin Blitzer and consider Christmas from a different viewpoint from a place far away time long ago from church in Chicago this is going to win with Dr. when looser was clear. Teaching helps us make it across the finish line after looser Joseph and Mary were in place.

Tell us about space, but no room. You know, Dave, and perhaps this is your testimony to. I personally have heard this story many many times.

Of course it's a true story. I've contemplated it and we never lose the wonder of the humility of Jesus coming to Bethlehem. And of course being laid in a manger.

So today I want all of our listeners to just simply listen carefully as we talk about this event and rehearse it and remind ourselves that that baby was God in the flesh the next few moments. I want you to go back me in time back to that day when God was alone, and nothing else existed in the whole universe at that time God made a series of decision that affects all of us. First of all, he made the decision to create the universe and that would mean that now there would be something else that would have existence other than God, then God in his wisdom, decided to choose this planet planet Earth. One of the smallest of the planets in this planet would be the stage on which a drama would be played out were the themes of good and evil and justice and injustice would be played up against one another. Eventually, of course, God showing his triumph in it all, God decided in the councils of eternity that he himself would become a man because there was a principal that was necessary to fulfill. And that was that God would have to be, like unto the creatures that he would reconcile to himself to make an offering for sin. So the angel comes to Mary in Nazareth and we might expect that Mary because she was pregnant of the Holy Spirit, we would expect that she would give birth there in the city of Nazareth, but that was not possible because in years earlier. A prophet had predicted that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem. Caesar Augustus gave a decree that older then known world should be taxed and everyone had to go back to his own home, and because Joseph was enrolled in Bethlehem. They made the 80 miles of track in the night they arrived, they were very frantically looking for a place to stay because Mary was about to give birth, so they went to the local inn at Bethlehem and they discovered that it was already full for the night but the innkeeper said you can stay here with the animals, where people bring their donkeys and their mules and route to the different parts of the land and so the Bible says in the second chapter of Luke verse seven which is my key verse for today that she brought forth her firstborn son and the lady them in the manger, because there was no room for them in the EN. Let me ask you a question today. Who was that baby that was laid in the manger, who was a he comes from heaven to earth and he discovers I know they can see the sign in one of his own motels and so what happens is Mary and Joseph do what every poor couple gets used to doing and that is to make do with what they have and they spend the night in the stable were Jesus was born, you know that phrase. No room is really symbolic of Christ's whole life. It's not just that there was no room when he was born there was no room for him anywhere. When he live.

People were trying to crowd him out of their lives and out of their schedules. For example, first of all, we noticed that there was no room for him in the business world. No room for him in the business world. I know that the innkeeper didn't realize that Mary was bearing the son of God.

He thought that she was just your average peasant couple that needs to make do as best they can, and also it would be very difficult to ask some people to move after they had been put into a room for the night but I venture to say that if Mary and Joseph had been rich if they had had lots of money and if they had had had some prestige and some position in society. Somehow, where arrangements would've been made that there might have been room but there was no room for in his ordinariness. There was no room now what was true at his birth was true throughout his life. One day some disciples wanted to walk with Jesus and they came to Jesus and they said we want to be your disciples and he said now before you sign up. Remember this is Matthew chapter 8 verse 20 he said I want you to remember. He says that the foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but he says the Son of Man has nowhere where he can put his head. I don't own any houses and close in land Zenon vestments no silver and gold.

If you follow me, make sure you understand who I am because I'm not a part of the world's values and attitudes Jesus in effect said that if we love the money we hated God all. How does that go over in a very active exciting business climate.

By the way, have you ever wondered what Jesus must think of Christmas I was doing some shopping yesterday and I was in a line and was a woman about three ahead of me, who was trying to argue with the cashier about one of these coupons that you pulled out of her purse high in the world. Advertisers do that.

I don't know, but the cashier was saying that was out of date that no longer it applied she was saying it gets to the cashier had to leave her place and go call somebody else hears this whole line of people waiting to pay as I saw the exasperation on their faces. I said to myself, they might be preparing for a birthday party, but they don't look very happy that I was understandable, but it was even worse than that, I'm somebody who love Jesus I love Jesus and I was very happy either.

So I did something that I've promised myself, how sometimes I would never do. I switched Lane and I can understand how little better.

The words of the boy who prayed and said, oh Lord, forgive us our Christmases even as we forgive those who Christmas against us that want you to think for a moment just for a moment.

Put yourself on Christ's throne. You are king. You are Lord you are God and the world is throwing a multi-billion-dollar Christmas party for you. That sounds good but when you look at the fine print.

It doesn't sound may be quite that good. Number one none of the gifts are for you.

None for you payroll for other guests who invite themselves to your party. Secondly, even worse than that not only are none of the gifts for you, but you yourself are not even in cited you're not a part of the celebration you're only the occasion for it. Think about that. You know, I think it is a scandal beyond iron to think that Jesus, who so disdained the commercialism that Jesus, who himself had no place to lay his head. And Jesus was so exposed to greed should be the occasion for an event whose success is not measured by how much love we have in our hearts were Jesus, nobody even pretends that's what Christmas is all about the benefit of Christmas is measured solely on the basis of what it means to the economy of our nation how to tell you very candidly that if Jesus were to walk into the business world of today he would be politely shown to the door and he would say we have no room for someone who believes in such honesty and in such pain check ready in such eternal values, no room, no vacancy here is the door, but secondly, not only was there no room for Jesus in the business world of his day, but there was no room for Jesus and the religious world of his day and we might think that surely Christ would find a home within the religious community. After all, he is generally thought of as being a religious man but I want you to know today that Christ's most ferocious enemies were those who propagated the official religion of the day, and it has ever been so throughout the pages of history who was it that really instigated the crowds to cry up and say give us Barabbas released Barabbas but not this man, this man on the cross, who was it.

It was the priests, the Sanhedrin, the Pharisees and who hated Christ with a passionate hatred you do not know why the hatred is on till you see those who hate Christ although he exposed to.

They were he exposed their hypocrisy, their long prayers that they prayed not for the benefit of God, but for the benefit of themselves and what other people would think about them when they were praying he show for all generations to come. The fact that every one of us can claim to be devoted to God that devotion to God may be nothing more than this guys devotion to ourselves because all of us can hide behind religion and hide our sins behind religious role. So Jesus showed all that Jesus elect everyone know that they were neglecting that which was most important. They were keeping all of the outward pageantry and the observances in their hearts so far from God and Christ had a way of pinpointing so that it was clear and unambiguous.

You know that today, America is still a religious country, but we have basically accepted generally on society, a kind of religion that is a mishmash, a hodgepodge, let me speak plainly to say that Jesus is one God among many to say that Jesus has a part in a religion that is mixed up with all kinds of other philosophies and some pieces of other religions is an insult to the King of Kings, the Lord of lords in the God of very God he's being insulted today. Day by day by the kind of week religion that is been created by people who don't like Christ for all the really is. Let me also say very candidly that there is some of you were listening to this message today do not know Christ personally and you are turned off to Christ to because you have been turned off by religion. I religion of emptiness of hollowness of of MTF phrases that are said and in you been turned off by that and down deep in your heart you know that there must be something else to fill the emptiness of your life but you have tried religion and it has failed you will.

I want you to know today that Christianity is not a religion. In that sense at all. If you understand it correctly is a relationship with Jesus Christ that is true, that is real, that is daily that is vibrant and that can be fulfilling and that's what you want, not the popular religions of the day who basically say there is no room for Christ.

Let me say that oftentimes what happens in religious circles is that Jesus, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the King of Kings. He is defanged he is made and to attain the Christ and manageable Christ. Christ, whom we like he is not seen as Savior, as God and coming King.

Basically, today we see all over, even in religious circles, if we understood it properly, a sign that says no room no room no room in business. No room in religion.

No room also in the legal world the legal world you know Jesus experienced at least six trials before he was crucified. Some of them were secular trials. For example, he came before Herod and Pilate, but some were religious. He came before the Sanhedrin and the high priest, but those who study those trials carefully point out that Christ did not receive any justice, even according to those standards of justice. He was railroaded. Those courts were set ups because when you want to get rid of somebody you use the law in order to do it so that you can give the pretense that you're doing this right and then what you can do is to get rid of him and get him out of the way and use the law to do it. I think for example of the Presidents Park in Washington DC, a Christian choir came from Romania and began to sing in the park and have a concert and they were asked to leave because there can be no use of secular parks for such religious purposes because this after all, would constitute the establishment of religion, you understand now Satanists had a concert in the park but that's okay.

I study this and discover that, did you know that the name Christ and God can be used in our schools as swearwords you can curse God in Christ and have constitutional protection while you are doing it. That is protected by free speech, but Christ and God cannot be spoken of reverently in our schools, because that indicate a sanction of religion and you can't have and then the Supreme Court's confusing rulings regarding Christmas crate short a Christmas arrangement out very confusing.

I read this yesterday. It's hard to know what the court really means, because what they said was that you can actually have the baby Jesus and and you can have the manger scene as long as it doesn't stand alone. You have to mix it up. You have to put this and hide him behind Rudolph the red nose reindeer and if you get enough secular symbols in there then it can pass but don't let Jesus have all the limelight get rid of him.

No room for Christ. No room in the schools. No room in the parks and their powerful voices saying no room for him in the government. No room no room no vacancy. You are the creator.

You are the king the answer is get out here that serious but in the closing moments of this message I want to talk to you about something that is even more serious and that is that there is some of you were listening to me right now and Christ has no room in your own heart. Maybe in your mind you admire him, but there's no room for Christ in your own heart you give him a little itsy-bitsy bit of room. Maybe even once or twice a year but really he isn't welcome the rest of the time.

You know the reason for this is because the fact that we emphasize the physical not the spiritual. You know there is some people who just live as if they forget that someday they will stand before Jesus as their judge and will last. What did you do with me when I was on earth. People live as if that isn't going to happen.

I'm here today to tell you that it is going to happen because it isn't just the baby in the manger. It's this strong powerful King of the universe who was born there in Bethlehem and we forget that IE must speak candidly and tell you that sometimes I am deeply grieved by the number of people who give some kind of allegiance to Christ, perhaps once a year, maybe during Christmas and Easter and literally blow God off the rest of the year and forget about its terrible terrible it's it's an insult to the King of Kings to the Lord of lords, and no matter how many nice words might be said if the truth were known across many heart.

There are two words written no room filled with pleasure and money making and aspirations and careers and all the other things. But for Jesus in the mind. Yes, but no room in the heart and we come with mixed motives. We come because we want to add Christ to all the other things we forget that Jesus Christ comes and invites us to open the door of our hearts to receive him, that we might be cleansed and forgiven and welcomed and then he wants to go into every single chamber into our reading room and then he wants to go into the living room into the den where we watched TV and in all of the rooms of our heart. Christ comes to client's to be Lord and to be God and anything less insults him. I need to remind you today that we are not saved because of what happened in the crib at Bethlehem we are saved because of what happened at the cross in Jerusalem.

The lowest time of Christ's dissension was not in that manger and even though it was smelly that was not it. It was when it was on the cross and he said my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me as he became the sacrifice for my sin. And for yours in London there was an old poor woman by the name of Miss Betty and Miss Betty never came out of her apartment because she owed so much money to so many creditors. She was afraid that she would be arrested.

So she stayed inside almost all the time. There was a minister who knew her and heard about her plight and decided he would do something nice and occasionally ministers do do something nice. Just remember that he decided that he would raise money for her and pay off all her debts so I did that he went to find her to give her the news asked the neighbors where the she lived. They said you know you go up the stairs and she's over there is goes and knocks on the door, no answer. Waits a few moments knocks on the door, no answer. Finally leaves and some neighbors I did you find her.

No no no answer they said she's in there, but she thinks that you're a policeman or you're a creditor. That's why he doesn't open the door so I went back and knocked on the door said, I'm a minister, let me in the identified himself. She opened the door he said I want you to know today.

We raised enough money we paid all your debts and he gave her the receipts to prove it. She was so embarrassed and so ashamed and she said you know I almost didn't let you in. Even though you're the one who paid my debts. You see, that's what happened. That's what happened. Jesus died on the cross and a payment was made for those who let him in. He died that we might be able to be reconciled with God and yet throughout this nation. There are millions of people live close the door of their hearts to the only one qualified to forgive them to reconcile them to God, and they have lots of space in their lives for a thousand different things. No room for Christ) pastoral concern during this Christmas season.

If you've never received the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ do it right now.

That's what Christmas is all about, and I want to ask you a question how would you like to have a wonderful book entitled the Bible code as you begin the new year. The Bible code has 55 different readings showing how Jesus Christ is the centrality of the Scriptures. Here's what you can do.

Go to RTW offer.com for gift of any amount Bible code can be yours RTW offer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337 you can write to us running to win 1635 N. LaSalle Boulevard Chicago, IL 60614 the birth of Jesus was a wondrous event we can't fully comprehend. Next time, don't miss the look at the mystery of Bethlehem, this is Dave McAllister going to win is sponsored by the teacher