Grace Baptist Church, Nokomis, IL.

Text:

Each one of us is born with a purpose. We all share a common purpose: to glorify God (2 Corinthians 10:31). But we each have a specific purpose as well. It varies from person to person based on all sorts of things (talents, experiences, geography). Esther’s purpose was to keep the Jews from being annihilated from the Earth, and she did so by being bold. Moses’s purpose was to lead the Israelites out of captivity and into the promised land, and he did so, although he himself was kept from entering it because of his sin. Jonah’s purpose was to preach to Ninevah, and he did so reluctantly because he didn’t like the Ninevites.

Jesus had a purpose when he was born: Jesus was born to die.

Read Luke 2:1-12

Let’s stop there for a moment and look at how the angel described the baby. Jesus is called three things in verse 11: Savior, Christ, and Lord. When Jesus is called Lord, the angel is conveying to us that Jesus is Master of all things. When Jesus is called Christ, it’s a reminder how God had promised to send a Messiah for centuries. When Jesus is called Savior, the angel is prophesying to the shepherds that Jesus would die for their sins.

Jesus was born to die.

Read Luke 2:13-20

We read this passage and think, “What a beautiful scene!” A multitude of angels were praising God! A sweet, little baby was born! Mary, the mother of Jesus, was excited and filled with wonder about all that had happened! And the shepherds went back to their sheep praising God! When we depict the nativity, we show the baby Jesus, the other key characters in the story, the animals, the hay, and the manger all in pristine, beautiful condition.

But the reality was that they were in a disgusting place! We don’t use the word “manger” much today, so we don’t intuitively know how to picture the scene accurately until we find out what a manger is: it’s the trough that animals eat out of. Jesus wasn’t in a nice room filled with a crib and baby toys and stuffed animals. No, there were real animals there! It was probably noisy, and dirty, and smelly, and dark, and crowded. Yet all who were there were able to praise God.

Listen, worship is not about all the externals. Each one of us ought to purposefully worship no matter where we are. I’m grateful for all the work that you all have put into making this building look nicer. The sign on the side of the building that faces the street is beautiful. The hardwood floor in the entryway is beautiful. Fresh coats of paint and decals on walls and photos of our church family are all beautiful. And we ought to make this place beautiful. We ought to give God our best, and not our leftovers. But all the renovations in the world can’t cause a heart to worship Christ. And if a heart is set on worshiping Christ, all the external things that need work will not get in the way of worshiping Him.

I’m so glad that we incorporate different styles of music in our worship services. I love the old hymns. I love what we call “Contemporary Christian music” (even though the stuff we usually sing isn’t really all that contemporary). And I love that we’re open to other styles as well!

A couple days ago, my niece Katie was sharing some her music with me. One of the songs she shared with me was from a Christian band called “As Cities Burn” and Katie described the band as the best Christian band out there right now, and she said that if any church played music from this band, they’d be the coolest church around. Here’s a clip from the band, “As Cities Burn.”

We’re now officially the coolest church around. You know, a lot of pastors would be forced to leave their churches because of what I just did. I watched a video of a preacher just last week talking about how rock music is from Satan and doesn’t belong in the church. But music itself is neither good nor evil. The question is, will we use it for good or evil? We shouldn’t let our preferences get in the way of worshiping as a church.

If the angels, and the shepherds, and Mary, and Joseph could all worship God despite being in a dirty, smelly, noisy, crowded barn, I think we ought to be able to set our hearts to worship God no matter where we are, or what we’re doing, or what’s going on around us. That’s our first purpose, which we all share in common: to glorify God no matter what.

But something gets in the way of us doing that: our sin. We can’t save ourselves from our sin. We need God to provide a Savior for us.

Read Luke 2:21-35

Take a look at how Simeon described Jesus. He said, “My eyes have seen your salvation” (v. 30). Yet salvation did not come through the birth of Jesus, but through His death. I don’t know if Simeon knew it or not, but the birth of the promised Messiah only had meaning because of what that Messiah would do. Jesus was going to die for the sins of everyone who put their hope in Him. Jesus was born to die.

Read Luke 2:36-39

I think this is a very interesting passage. It devotes two verses to describing Anna. But then only one verse to telling us what Anna did in this situation. We don’t even read any specific words that Anna said! But look at what Anna’s message was. She gave thanks to God. She began to speak of Jesus. Who did she speak of Jesus to? To all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem. Why would she do this? Because God is faithful. If the Messiah had been born, this meant that God would soon provide the promised sacrifice for their sin. It was as good as done.

Now think about this with me. The angels were praising God because this baby who was born was going to die for our sin. Simeon held the baby who would one day die for his sin, and he knew it, and praised God. Anna saw the baby who would die for the sin of all who would trust in Him, and she gave thanks and spread the news with joy.

When we have joy around Christmas time, is it some wishy washy feeling of peace? Is is just because we get to open gifts and spend time with family? Or is it because we realize the depths of our sin, and thank God for the birth of the one who would take away our sin? Jesus was born to die. That’s what Christmas is all about. Praise God for His indescribable gift.

What’s your specific purpose? Maybe God is calling you to international missions. Maybe God is calling you to be a witness doing whatever you’re doing now. Maybe God is calling you to be a pastor. What were you born to do?

Whatever your specific purpose in life, each of us like Jesus is also born to die. Our death will not atone for sin, but will be because we’ve sinned. We will each face judgment because of our sin. Trust in Jesus as your Savior, who is Christ the Lord.