Unto Us A Child is Born

Porch, how are we doing? Are we doing okay? Welcome to Porch Christmas. I'm so glad you're here and thankful we've gotten to journey together all year long. We are bringing it home tonight. I love the fact that we're getting to ring in the holiday at the beginning of December so we can calibrate ourselves and get ourselves prepared for where we're going over the course of the next month as we step into Christmas.

Without further ado, I thought I would start with a story as per usual. For some of you, the pressure is high this Christmas because you're going to be spending the holiday with your significant other's family for the very first time. I remember when this happened for me. It was 2017. Brooke and I were first married, and I finally got the opportunity to bring in the holiday and celebrate with some Christmas spirit alongside my in-laws.

It was meaningful for me for a couple of different reasons. First, I had never been invited to celebrate the holiday with them. Not because they don't like me. We get along great. They just have a rule in their family that you have to ring it to bring it, which means if you're so serious about your relationship, then you'll put your money where your mouth is and put a rock on her finger. Then you get entry into the family festivities. By that point, I had done so.

It was also meaningful because they take Christmas very, very seriously, like some of your families. They care a lot about the holiday, so much so that they gear up with all sorts of different traditions, things like baking cookies every single year, stringing lights together, watching Christmas Vacation, wearing matching Christmas pajamas (I had never been a part of that, but now I have several sets of Christmas pajamas from years past), taking Christmas Eve and sitting by the fire, and waking up in the morning and opening presents one by one by one so we could see what everybody got.

They take their Christmas traditions very seriously. I was all for it, because I came from a family that was the exact same way. There was one tradition that stood out to me most of all. On Christmas morning, before we did anything, before we opened any presents, before we made our way to the stockings or considered the rest of our day's plans, we read the Christmas story. Not the one about Ralphie and the Red Ryder BB gun but the one about Jesus, the fact that Christ came in this season, and he came for you and me.

You see, they knew what I know and I'm praying you would know tonight, that as wonderful as all the pageantry of Christmas is, the real wonder is found in the person of Christmas himself. It's found in Jesus. Now, why do I tell you all of this? Because some of you here are wondering why you haven't gotten an invitation to Christmas yet. The fact may be you haven't put a ring on it, so you should make haste, because that may be your entry to spend time with the family.

Also, and more importantly than that, bigger than the festivities of the holiday, more than lights and baked goods and dinner with family and time by the fire and singing Christmas carols, or whatever it may be for you, there is something so significant in this season where the true wonder of the holiday lies in wait. That's what I want to talk to you about tonight. That's what I want to help us find here at the beginning of this Christmas season.

The way I want to do it is I want to look at the book of Philippians. Now, you may be wondering why we are going to Philippians. This is not my normal place for a Christmas message. Typically, you would find yourself at the front chapters of one of the Gospels, maybe one of the verses you read at the beginning of the night in our opener.

The reason we're looking at Philippians 2 is I think therein lies the kind of wonder I really want us to get tonight, because what we see is a perspective on Christmas that's not earthly but is heavenly. In Philippians 2, we get to stand not from our vantage point here on planet earth; we get to stand from the vantage point of God himself in heaven as he thinks about this moment, the moment we've come to celebrate this month. As we see through God's own eyes on this holiday, we'll find the reason the season is so significant, three reasons in specific.

First, Jesus was born to reach a lost world. That's what it says starting in verse 6. "…who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men." Now, I want you to stop where you are and think about this for a minute. This statement is telling us something about the nature of who Jesus is.

Actually, it's telling us the fundamental nature of who Jesus is, the same way that if Jesus were to wear a letter jacket, all of the patches on his arms would detail characteristics about who he is, that he's a friend of sinners and went all-state in miracle-making and was first team when it came to saving the world. He would have patches lined along his arms that detailed these different characteristics of who he is.

Yet, most fundamental to who he is, that identifier you would find on the back of his jacket would be Son of God, because that is the name that is most fundamental to who Christ is. When it says he's in the form of God, it's not saying he looks like God. It's not saying he's a substitute or a nice alternative. It's saying he's actually God. Do you get that? If we gathered here and you heard that news, that would be good enough reason for us to get in this room together tonight, because that is amazing.

If you want to find the wonder of the holiday, what's more wonderful than this idea that God in heaven became a man here on this earth? That is jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring, wonderful beyond measure, yet Paul, as he writes through this, doesn't stop there. He goes on to tell us he was in the form of God, yet he emptied himself because he did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped. That word grasped in the original language is the idea of seizing something or taking something by force.

So, just to get some perspective, what Jesus is saying here is "I, as Jesus Christ, am the most powerful being in the world and all creation, yet I'm not on a power trip. I'm not looking out for myself. I'm actually willing to lay aside my sovereignty, punt on my privileges, and give up my glory, because I'm not thinking about me; I'm thinking about you. I'll do whatever it takes to get close to you, to help you."

Isaiah 53:2 tells us "…he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him." This is a good moment for me to introduce someone to the stage. Porch, would y'all do a great job of helping me welcome my son Kash Levi to the platform? Porch, meet little Kash, donning his very own Porch tee shirt, if you can see this. Kash, meet several thousand of your best friends.

When Kash was born, a couple of things struck me. First, I was struck by how remarkable he is, remarkable in the sense that he's a true gift from God to us, but I was also struck by the fact that he's pretty regular in the sense that he's just like me and just like you. Jesus was the same way. Jesus was remarkable, a gift from God, yet Jesus became regular, just like me and just like you.

Jesus was totally self-sufficient before he came to this earth, but when he came as a baby, he became like Kash. He needed his mommy and daddy for everything. Before he came, Jesus was totally self-reliant, yet, like Kash, he relied upon others to meet his needs. There was no aura about Jesus when he was here on this earth. There was no halo over his head. If he had walked into this room tonight, he wouldn't have floated to his seat. He would have looked just like you and just like me, and he would have been like him.

Jesus came, and he set aside his transcendence as God and took upon dependence like a babe. That's how badly Jesus wanted to reach you. That's how badly Jesus wanted to reach me. He was willing to become like us. That's how far he would go. He didn't hedge his bets. He didn't have one foot in and one foot out. He emptied himself completely because he loves you.

It says he came not just to be a man but to be a servant. Why a servant? Because he wants to help you. He wants to help those who are helpless. He wants to love those who are unlovely. He wants to redeem those who feel beyond redemption and save those who think they cannot be saved. That's how much Jesus matters in this season.

Jesus was not just born to reach a lost world. He was also born to rescue a broken people. That's what verse 8 tells us. Verse 8 says, "And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." You see, that's the important part of Christmas. Jesus didn't just come to associate with you; he came to liberate you.

Second Corinthians 8:9 says, "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich." Meaning, Jesus didn't just come for you. You get that. He didn't just come to associate. He came to change everything for you. He came to liberate you.

Do y'all know that movie The Nightmare Before Christmas, that movie that can't make up its mind if it's a Halloween or Christmas flick? That's a pretty appropriate title for your story before Jesus ever entered in. It was a nightmare, yet Jesus came into your story not just to shine a light into the recesses of your soul and show you just how broken you are, not just to prove to you that you really are messed up but, good luck, you're going to have to figure that out by yourself. No, he came because he wanted to figure that out for you.

He stepped in to fix the most broken parts of who you are, to free you of your failures, to save you of your sins, to ultimately redeem you in your worst mistakes. That's why he came. The birth of Christ that we celebrate at Christmas is Jesus looking upon your helpless estate and saying, "I can help. You don't think you have anyone who could help you in the most heart-wrenching places of your life, yet I can do it. If you need a liberator, I can liberate you. If you need a redeemer, I can redeem you. If you need a healer, I can heal you. If you need a savior, that's what I've come to do. I have come willing to empty myself so you might be filled up instead."

Jesus did the unthinkable. He descended from God to man to servant to death to even death on a cross, an infinite humiliation for the Son of God, so you might ascend from death to life to child of God to eternity with him forever. I love the way C.J. Mahaney says, "Christ bore it alone that we might not ever be alone."

So, what do you do when you know all of this? Once you know Jesus was born to reach a lost world and rescue a broken people, you do what God does, which is where this passage ends in verses 9-11. It says, "Therefore…" Because of all of this, because Jesus has been born to reach a lost world and rescue a broken people…

"Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." You remember who Jesus is. You see the life he lived, the lengths he would go to get to you, and then you respond rightly.

How do you respond? With rejoicing. You praise him, because there's no one like him, because you know Jesus was born to reign over everything, and that includes you. In theological circles, whenever you work through this section of Scripture, there are three terms used to describe the detail Paul is unpacking.

The first is Christ's condescension, that he condescended. He lowered himself from heaven to earth. The next is Christ's humiliation, that he bore our shame in sin on the cross. The last is Christ's exaltation, that though he died, death could not keep him. He rose forth from the grave, because he is who he says he is. He did what he said he would do.

He's not just a nice guy, a miracle worker, or a helpful teacher. He's God, and he conquered that unconquerable foe. He vanquished our very worst enemy. He ultimately dominated that which was dominating you and condemning you to separation from him forever. He took away your sin, and as he rose forth from the grave, he declared, "I am who I say I am. I am King." He sits on his throne tonight. He reigns over all tonight. He rules over everything tonight.

What does that mean that he rules? We don't really use that kind of language. You don't say, "I rule over my cubicle." No one talks about their workspace like that. You might look at someone and say, "You rule," but that's the closest thing we get. So, what does it mean when the Scripture is telling us that he reigns, that he rules? It means he's not only all-powerful; it means he has the right to rule, and he has the right to rule because he is King.

Some of you need to know tonight… I don't know what the holidays hold. I don't know what the month ahead has in store, but because Jesus reigns on his throne right now, you have reason for hope. Because Jesus reigns on his throne right now, you have reason for peace. Because Jesus reigns on his throne right now, you have reason for joy.

I remember several years ago finding myself so excited because Christmas was coming. I love this holiday, the chance to be with my family, to sit by the table with my friends, to enjoy good food, to watch cheesy Hallmark movies, to sing those songs and avoid Mariah Carey at all costs. I was just pumped. I love this season for all of these reasons, yet what I realized is that that name, which is at the center of the holiday, didn't evoke within me the kind of wonder I wanted.

Maybe that's you here tonight. What you need to know is the name at the center of this holiday is that name which is above every name. It's the name at which every knee shall bow and every tongue confess he is Lord in heaven, on earth, and under the earth. If you want to be reawakened to the wonder of Christmas, then you need look no farther than the one who sought to reach a lost world, rescue a broken people, and today reigns over all things. If you want to be reawakened to the wonder of Christmas, you need look no farther than the one who came looking for you. Let me pray for us.

God, we love you. I'm thankful, standing here at the final Tuesday of this year, knowing just how much you've accomplished in the lives of very individual people from very different backgrounds with very broken and busted stories. I'm so grateful that you've given us the joy of being a part of that. I'm so grateful to you that here in this room we haven't just gathered because we want to be entertained, because we want to grow our intellect, or because we want to meet new people.

Yes, God, those are good reasons to gather, but we have gathered here with the sole and singular purpose of seeking you, and in this season that's easy to do because we're reminded that you sought us first. We love you. We sing to you now, and we celebrate you, Jesus, the one who would reach out to a lost people, would rescue us from the most broken parts of our story, and would reign over us today, tomorrow, and forever for our good. We sing to you now. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.