THE LORD IS VISITING HIS PEOPLE (2)

INTRODUCTION

Let us read from Matthew 1:18-2:12.

When someone says today, "God visits his people," they usually mean it because they have seen something spectacular. This also happened in biblical times, for example, in Luke 7:16.

CONTENT

I.          No noticeable signs.

But at the birth of the Lord Jesus on earth (Christmas), God visited His people, and nothing spectacular seemed to happen, at least not to most people at the time.

Spectacular things did indeed happen, such as:

• born of a virgin. But who knew this except Joseph and Mary?

• Heavenly hosts/ angels praising God (Luke 2:13-14), but this too was only seen by a few shepherds.

• the star (Matthew 2:2,9). But even this was only visible to the Wise Men.

While what the crowds saw was far from spectacular, it was certainly in line with the prophecies in the Old Testament about Jesus (Isaiah 53:2-3).

So do not always expect spectacular things! While God is certainly capable of such things, He does not always work that way!

II.          The purpose of God's visit.

The primary purpose of Jesus' coming to the world was to save his people from sin (Matthew 1:21).

We can learn several things from Matthew 1:21:

1.     The words “saved from sin” mean:

a)       Redemption from sin, forgiveness of sin, and deliverance from punishment because of sin.

b)       The name 'Jesus' means “Savior” (Deliverer) and therefore, if you believe in Jesus, you must believe in Him as the Savior from sins, not just as someone who performs miracles, who is a role model, giving blessings, healing diseases, and so on.

• This is what we must emphasize when evangelizing.

2.     Those who truly believe in Christ are truly freed from the penalty of sin (Romans 8:1).

Deliverance from the slavery of sin (John 8:34-36, 1 Peter 2:24).

So, we who were once slaves to sin and could not do good, yet now we can do good (2 Corinthians 5:17).

CONCLUSION

A true Christian must experience the two abovementioned things.