In rhetorical and communication studies, a message is defined as information conveyed by words (in speech or writing), and/or other signs and symbols. A message (verbal or nonverbal, or both) is the content of the communication process. The originator of the message in the communication process is the sender. The sender conveys the message to a receiver. Both verbal and nonverbal content is part of the information that is transferred in a message. If nonverbal cues do not align with the verbal message, ambiguity is introduced even as uncertainty is increased. For most people this is a bit confusing and to be honest I meant for it to be in order to make a point. Good morning and welcome to the Panhandle and my blog. Because we are only 6 days from Christmas I wanted to post these studies, words of encouragement about the birth of our Lord and Saviour, Christ Jesus. So come on in, grab your Bible and let’s settle in for awhile. Let me start out reminding you that I got the sermon idea from Greg Fine, who originally pen them in 2006 or 2007.
God has been trying to communicate His message to us but we just don’t seem to be hearing Him. Or we just aren’t getting it. But rather than give up in frustration, God loves us so much that He desperately wants to reveal Himself to us in ways that we can understand. That is why He sent His own Son to communicate His message in a way that we can understand and relate to. Message: a communication containing some information, news, advice, request, or the like, given by one person to another person or a group of people. That is the miracle of Christmas. That is the miracle of the message.
Our Christmas sermon series is called, Experience the Miracle of Christmas. It is not enough to just know about the miracle of Christmas. We need to experience the miracle of Christmas in our own hearts and lives. Today we want to focus on The Miracle of the Message. Once again I use a scene from, Miracle on 34th Street, to help me illustrate and help you understand the miracle of the message. In today’s example we see Kris Kringle interacting with a little girl who has come to the department store to see Santa. In the 1947 version Kris communicates with a little Dutch girl who was orphaned in WWII and then adopted by an American couple. In the 1994 version he uses sign language to communicate with a little deaf girl.
Did you see the miracle of the message? In both versions Kris Kringle was able to communicate in a way that the little girl could understand. He was able to speak her language. Hebrews 1:1-2 records this miracle of the message from God. 1God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, 2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.
God sent His one and only Son in order to bring His message to us. God sent Christ Jesus to communicate His message in a way that we can understand! The New Century Version says it this way; In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets many times and in many different ways. But now in these last days God has spoken to us through his Son. (Hebrews 1:1-2a) The miracle of the message is that God speaks to us today, just as He has throughout history so that we can know Him and draw near to Him!
1. God has been speaking throughout history.
Just as in the past God desires to communicate, to connect with us. God is not just an idea or philosophy. He is God and He is to be listened to, to be understood, to be enjoyed and to be obeyed.
God isn’t distant, He has been speaking throughout history to reveal Himself to us. He wants us to know Him, to love Him, to worship Him. The Bible describes a variety of ways God has communicated with us and still communicates with us:
God reveals Himself through His creation, through the sunrise and sunset. Through the sun, moon and stars.
God spoke to Moses in the burning bush, He spoke to the Israelites from the smoke and fire on the mountain.
He spoke to Elijah in a still, small voice, to Isaiah in a vision in the temple. He spoke to Jeremiah through a potter’s clay and to Joseph through dreams.
God even spoke His message through a donkey! God has been speaking His message through visions and dreams, through angels, through symbols, through natural events, and through the Bible, His Holy Word.
There is no lack of variety for God’s revelation, after all they are not a monotonous activity that must always occur in the same place or the in the same way. God has been speaking throughout history in a variety of places through a variety of means in order to make Himself and His will known! The question is are you listening?
Prior to the first advent of Christ Jesus there had been 400 years of silence.
2. 400 years of silence.
400 years since Malachi the prophet last uttered his messages from God. Why the silence? We don’t know. All we do know is that until John the Baptist arrives on the scene there had been no prophets proclaiming God’s message.
God had been speaking but people weren’t getting the message. They didn’t understand God’s heart. They didn’t understand God’s plan. Too many claimed to be speaking for God but they only misrepresented Him to others. Confusion, not understanding, resulted.
But now, at last, God has sent His Son to bring His message to us! God sent Christ Jesus to show us what He is like. God took the initiative to send Christ Jesus to us because He wants to reveal Himself to us. In the Lord, Christ Jesus, God revealed Himself directly to mankind. Christ Jesus is the living, divine Son of God. He is God in the flesh. He did more than just proclaim God’s message – He is God’s message. Christ Jesus came to make God known to us in ways that we can understand. Look at verse 3. ~ And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
John’s Gospel describes Christ Jesus as the Word becoming flesh and living among us. Christ Jesus is the ultimate message of God. If you want to know what God is like, look to Christ Jesus! When Phillip asked Christ Jesus to show them the Father, Jesus replied, Don’t you know me, Phillip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. (John 14:9). Christ Jesus declares in John 10:30, I and the Father are one.
God sent Christ Jesus to communicate His message in a way that we can understand. Here it is pretty plain ~ that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; (Romans 10:9).
3. The miracle of the message is: God spoke in the past and God is speaking to us today so we can know Him and draw near to Him.
God speaks to us today to tell us how much He loves us and cares for us. He knows exactly what we are going through. He understands our pains and problems, He understands our trials and temptations. He is speaking to us today, and His message for us is: That the infinite God of the universe who created all that exists, who sustains all that exists, desires to tell to you and me; that He loves us.
The greatest miracle of the message is it’s transforming power. Christmas is the celebration of the greatest message ever to be proclaimed. God is with us. In Christ Jesus, God came near so that we could draw near to Him. If I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people toward me. (John 12:32 NCV).
The miracle of the message is that God is, in Christ Jesus, God/man reconciling the world to Himself. Christ Jesus came so that God could reveal Himself and His plan to us in a way that we could understand. He came to proclaim God’s message so that we can be set free from sin’s hold over our lives.
God sent His Son, Christ Jesus, to bring His message to us in a way that we could understand. Why would He do that? Because He wanted us to know how much He loves us. He wants to set us free from the things that hinder us and bind us and prevent us from experiencing the kind of life that He desires for us. He came to proclaim the message that we have been set free from the penalty of sin. We don’t have to live as prisoners to guilt and regret. We can live as free individuals. Believing that message will change our life forever.
The miracle of Christmas is the miracle of the message – God loves you and me! Are you listening? Believe the message God is speaking to you and your life will never be the same! Are you ready to experience the miracle of the message right now?
Merry Christmas from the Panhandle, and my our Lord and Saviour, Christ Jesus richly bless you and yours,
Biblesurfer
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