12/21/97………………….The Gift of Liberty………………..Luke 4
by Ronald E. George Jr. at the Sand Fork Baptist Church.
From the throne in Heaven to the earthen Tomb
From the Creator to the Creature
From the King to the Captured
From the Sovereign to the Savior
From the Shepherd to the Lamb
From the Feed trough to the fallen Tree
From the Cradle to the Cross
When the song of the angels is silent
When the star in the sky is gone
When the kings and princes are home
When the shepherds are again tending their sheep
When the manger is darkened and still
The work of Christmas begins -- To find the lost -- To heal the broken --
To feed the hungry -- To rebuild the nations-- To bring peace among people--
To befriend the lonely-- To release the prisoner-- To make music in the heart. Howard Thurmond in Parables Etc.
The Work of Christmas is to give Liberty.
Scripture Text:
Luke 4:16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, 18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. 20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
Why did He do it?
I. He came for the lost, the lonely, and the least among society.
Luke 19:10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
Who are the lost, lonely, and least among us?
In a testimony an evangelist one time described his mother as being love personified. As a boy he found her sitting at the table with an old tramp one day. Apparently she had gone shopping, met the tramp along the way, and invited him home for a warm meal. During the conversation the tramp said, "I wish there were more people like you in the world." Whereupon his mother replied, "Oh, there are. But you must look for them." The old man simply shook his head, saying. "But, lady, I didn't need to look for you. You looked for me." When that mother reflected her Christian kindness toward the tramp she did something more than simply offer him welfare. It was a compassion that went out of its way to love the unlovely. And that's the story of our Savior's life, death and resurrection. He came looking for us in the sick, the maimed, the lame, the bruised, the broken hearted, the wretched wanderer, the poor and forgotten, the prisoner, and the lonely rich. Has he found you?
II. He came to give to all who would believe in Him the Gift of Liberty!
To set us free from the slavery of sin.
To set us free from the hopelessness of death.
To restore the freedom that we had to know God and live with him.
Everybody longs for freedom. But for many people its pursuit leads to bondage. The greatly loved Bible teacher Henrietta Mears knew the secret of true freedom, and she wanted her students to know it too. With young people in mind, she said, "A bird is free in the air. Place a bird in the water and he has lost his liberty. A fish is free in the water, but leave him on the sand and he perishes. He is out of his realm. So, young people, the Christian is free when he does the will of God and is obedient to God's command. This is as natural a realm for God's child as the water is for the fish, or the air for the bird."
III. Liberty is the product of Christmas.
1. Liberty is the sum total of the Life, Love, and Light of Christmas.
2. Liberty is the person of Christmas having found room to be born in us.
3. Liberty is the result of having received Christ and the gifts he brings.
4. Liberty is the freedom to live this life looking forward to the next day with God.
Patrick Henry has been quoted as saying "Give me liberty or give me death."
5. Liberty is Life. Without the Liberty of Christmas there is no life!
2 Cor 3:17 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
Will you allow the Spirit of Christmas, which is the Holy One to live within you so that you might know the Liberty of Serving the Living Lord?
Why did He do it? Born to die for you and me.