"Ministers’ Minute"
---- Volume III Number
12
Editor’s Note: This "MM"
is the 36th email sermon in a series we are sending as
an encouragement to preachers and Christian workers around the
world. This message was first sent in December 2002, the
first Christmas sermon we sent. So many subscribers have come on board
since then, we chose to send it again. It develops texts
in three of the Gospels; all deal with the incarnation. This
message deals with our decision to make "Room for
Jesus." It is my prayer that this message will encourage
you and those you teach. Use it as a devotional, edit it, share
it, or use components of it! If you would
like to receive by email a short PowerPoint presentation that
accompanies this sermon, just reply with your request.
Long ago, there ruled in Persia a wise and good king. He loved his people. He wanted to know how they lived. He wanted to know about their hardships. Often he dressed in the clothes of a working man or a beggar, and went to the homes of the poor. No one whom he visited thought that he was their ruler. One time he visited a very poor man who lived in a cellar. He ate the coarse food the poor man ate. He spoke cheerful, kind words to him. Then he left. Later he visited the poor man again and disclosed his identity by saying, "I am your king!" The king thought the man would surely ask for some gift or favor, but he didn't. Instead he said, "You left your palace and your glory to visit me in this dark, dreary place. You ate the course food I ate. You brought gladness to my heart! To others you have given your rich gifts. To me you have given yourself!"
God was willing to do whatever it took to have fellowship with us. Even becoming human.
Consider: Would you become a frog to save the frogs? A worm to save the worms? Jesus, the Agent and Power of Creation, the Word, became human to save every human! Awesome! John 1:1-14
But do we have "Room for Jesus?"
1. NO ROOM. Matthew 2:16-18
King Herod had no room at all! Lashed out at the New Messiah because of envy, greed, and the love for power. No we wouldn't do that!
We distance ourselves from the Herods and the Hitlers and the Stalins and the Pol Pots of the world. We're not that antagonistic. We are not murderers! But how about category #2?
2. DARK CORNER. Luke 2:7
The inn-keeper, though not specifically mentioned, gets a lot of flack, doesn't he! But this "go to the back of the bus" approach is a key to understanding our greatest temptation.
As the poem has described, we'll celebrate Christmas, put up a manger scene, and sing "Joy to the World." And do it all while giving the King of Kings lip service as we spend the big bucks on ourselves -- not on world evangelism or alleviating human suffering. Anti-Christmas? Of course not! But doesn't Jesus get leftovers too often?
It's like He comes to our house and we let Him in, but assign him not to the "Master Bedroom" but to the utility area. He's not out in the cold, but He sure isn't in the very middle of our lives, goals, and dreams. I call this assigning Him the "dark corner" space. He came in a manger, a feed trough, and now he plays second fiddle to our REAL priorities. Look in your daytimer .. look in your checkbook ... what do you see? Where does Jesus fit in?
Luke 7:36-50 contrasts the "dark corner" approach of Simon the Pharisee and the sinful woman. That leads us to the only truly appropriate option.
3. FIRST PLACE. Luke 7:45-46
She made Him her King. She gave her all. She put Him first. She had sinned much. She had been forgiven much. She loved much. How about us? Does pride prevent such selfless devotion? Does busyness preclude full commitment? Let's go back and finish our poem: