He Came In A Box of Cowfeed
I wonder what Christmas means to a mother who has lost her husband, who must take care of 3 or 4 children, working every day, never quite getting everything done, never making ends meet? What does Christmas mean to her?
I wonder what Christmas means to the little man in Zimbabwe, 80 years old, living in a hut, who knows nothing of shopping malls or Christmas trees? What does Christmas mean to him?
I wonder what it means to little children in orphanages with smudges on their cheeks, & sparkling eyes that look up, hoping to get adopted when couples walk in? What does Christmas mean to them?
I wonder what it means to missionaries who are half a world away from families & friends, who are sacrificing so much to take the precious gospel message to others who have never heard? What does it mean to them?
I’m sure that it means different things to different people.
To merchants it is the busiest time of the year. Stores stay open longer, & hire extra people to accommodate all the shoppers. It means more profit, hopefully enough profit to see them through lean times ahead.
For some employees it means a Christmas bonus, a little more money in their pockets to do things that they want to do.
For many teen-agers & adults it is a time of fun & parties. For children it is a time of impatience, with time seeming to pass so slowly, as they wait for Christmas morning.
What does Christmas mean for you?
Sometimes I get the feeling that we are like the folks who decided to throw a party to honor a very special friend. They sent out invitations, decorated the hall, & had the food catered. All the people came together at the designated time, but to their surprise, the guest of honor was not there.
Finally, they made the embarrassing discovery that no one had ever invited the guest of honor.
I wonder if that happens at Christmas time? Do we go through all the decorating, & buying presents, & preparing elaborate meals, but somehow forget whose birthday it really is?
One family tried to overcome that by putting an extra place at their Christmas table for Jesus, & calling Christmas, "His birthday party." When one of their daughters was asked if she got everything she wanted for Christmas, she answered by saying, "No, but then it’s not my birthday."
It isn’t our birthday, is it? It’s the Lord’s birthday.
No matter what you have grown up believing or what your tradition was, I am here to tell you that JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON! Amen! In spite of the pagan customs that have attached themselves to the birth of Christ. And in spite of the probable improper date given to His birth, He is nonetheless the reason for the season.
Listen up Church!
Old Santa is not the reason!
St. Nick is not the reason!
Kriss Kringle is not the reason!
Rudolph the red-nose reindeer is not the reason!
Kissing under the mistletoes is not the reason!
Chestnut roasting over an open fire is not the reason!
Jack frost nibbling at your toes is not the reason!
BUT JESUS CHRIST IS THE REASON!
Christmas without Christ is just mas. Do you know what mas is? Anybody here know? I don’t know. I thought somebody here would know.
Friends, only with Christ, can you truly celebrate Christmas.
Turn with me to the Christmas story according to St. Paul. Open with me to the tiny book called Philippians. Philippians 2:3-7.
(3) Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.
(4) Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
(5) Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
(6) who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,
(7) but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men (in a box of cowfeed.) Now I added that last phrase.
Away in a manger… Away… Do you know that one? “Away in a manger, no crib for a bed, the little Lord Jesus lay down His sweet head, the stars in the sky look down where He lay, the little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay.”
Friends, may I remind you that this song is about the God-King of the universe. Do you know what it meant for God to become incarnate as a human being? People try to describe Christ’s incarnation by saying it would be similar to a human being becoming an ant. And then I read a book a few days ago by one author who says, “No way! Not even close. Human beings and ants are practically kissing cousins compared to the differences between God and us.”
The author goes on to say, “God has life in Himself. Each breath we take is a gift. God had no beginning. Absolutely everything in our back water world had a starting point. God is infinitely powerful and all-knowing. Our minds can’t even figure out how our own minds work.”
Jesus comes down. There was no entourage, nothing but a vagabond carpenter with his young second wife. A few stinky curious barnyard critters and Emmanuel is born, “God with us.”
William Blake, the great poet, tried to capture the great incarnation with these poignant words: For now mercy has a human heart… pity - a human face… and love - the human form divine… and peace - the human dress.
Let me read it again with you.
(5) Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
(6) who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,
(7) but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men (in a box of cowfeed.)
After the astonishing transformation He experienced when He traveled to this earth to become a human being, did He have to be born in a box of cowfeed?
Please understand this: He didn’t have to come in a box of cowfeed. The pen of inspiration i.e. Ellen White tells us that when Christ had condescended, “He could have taken upon Him any condition of humanity He might choose.” He could have chosen to Mt. Sinai Hospital in Jerusalem or Caesar’s palace to lay down His sweet head. And it would have been sufficient. So why did Christ choose the lowest and most humble walk of life? It is so that no one could ever say, “Jesus, you can’t understand my situation.” No one can say, “Jesus, but you’ve never had to go through what I’m going through.”
Brothers and sisters, your parents may not understand what you are going through. Your best friend may not understand the hell you are going through. But there is one person who does. His name is Jesus Christ. Jesus understands. Jesus understands what you are going through today.
The Desire of Ages tells us that there were people that tried to cast contempt upon Him because of His birth. People pointed fingers at Jesus and said, “You are illegitimate!” He grew up in a dysfunctional home with a bunch of half brothers who treated Him real bad. We are told that his half brothers “were jealous of Him, and manifested the most decided unbelief and contempt.”
Do you live in a dysfunctional home where fights are always breaking out? Jesus understands what you are going through.
In the Desire of Ages p. 88 it says, “Of the bitterness that falls to the lot of humanity, there was no part which Christ did not taste.”
So tonight, when you lay down on your Sealy Posturepedic, and you are tempted to complain, you think about Jesus “asleep on the hay.” Amen!
He “made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men (in a box of cowfeed.)
I read a story about an ancient king of Persia who loved to mingle with his people in disguise. Once, dressed as a poor man, he descended the long flight of stairs, dark and damp to the tiny cellar where the fireman, seated on ashes, was tending the furnace. The king sat down beside him and began to talk. At meal time the fireman produced some coarse black bread and a jug of water and they ate and drank. The king went away but returned again and again for his heart was filled with sympathy for the lonely man. They became very good friends as time passed. At last the king thought, I’ll tell him who I am, and see what gift he will ask. So he did, but the fireman didn’t ask for a thing. The king was astonished and said, “Don’t you realize that I can give you anything, a city, a throne? The man gently replied, I understand your Majesty. You have already given the greatest gift a man could receive. You left your palace to sit with me here in this dark and lonely place. You could give nothing more precious. You have given yourself and that is far more than I could ever deserve.
Friends, God has given us far more than we could ever deserve when He gave us Jesus. So even if I didn’t get the gift I wanted for Christmas, it’s okay, because I’ve got Jesus. Even if I didn’t get the dinner invitation that I was hoping to get, it’s okay, because Jesus dined with me on Christmas day. Even if, because of my financial struggles, I have to spend another winter in the same small house, that’s okay, because I’ve got Jesus.
How does that hymn go? “In the morning when I rise, In the morning when I rise, In the morning when rise, Give me Jesus, Give me Jesus, Give me Jesus, You may have all this world, Give me Jesus.”
Would someone please pray that God would anoint me with the gift of singing so I can sing to you!
Friends, Jesus is the reason for the season. Amen!
One of my favorite Christmas stories is about a 7th-grade boy by the name of William Spurling. William Spurling was big for his age, & a little slow mentally. But he was a good boy & all the kids liked him. December rolled around, and it was time to prepare for the Christmas program.
William Spurling wanted to be a shepherd, but the teacher decided that he would make a better inn keeper than a shepherd since he was so big. So she gave him the task of being the rough, mean inn keeper.
It was the night of the play. When Mary & Joseph came to the inn & knocked on the door, William Spurling opened it. And when they asked for a place to stay, he said harshly, "There is no place for you to stay. There is no room in the inn." Joseph said, "But my wife is tired and weary, and she is expecting a baby. Isn’t there just a small room somewhere where we could rest?"
Once again, William Spurling said, with roughness in his voice, "You’ll have to find a place somewhere else. There is no room in the inn." Once more Joseph pleaded just for some place for them to stay the night. Then there was a long pause, one of those pauses that is as embarrassing for the audience as it is for the cast. William Spurling had forgotten his next line.
Back behind the props you could hear the prompter saying, "No, be gone! No, be gone!" That was his next speech. Finally, William Spurling said, with softness in his voice, "No, be gone." Mary & Joseph sadly turned to leave. But as they did, suddenly William Spurling regained his voice & said, "Wait a minute! You can stay in my room, & I’ll sleep in the shed."
In the stunned silence that followed, the teacher thought the play was ruined, until she thought again of the words of a 7th-grade boy, who may have communicated the real truth of Christmas better than any. "No, you can stay in my room, & I’ll sleep in the shed."
Oh Jesus, you can stay in my room, and I’ll sleep in the shed. Jesus, you should have been born in the White House, but you chose to be born near the outhouse. Oh Jesus, why did you? Jesus, you can stay in my room, and I’ll sleep in the shed.
2 Corinthians 8:9
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.
On our presents, we put little tags. To Liana from Martin. To Mom and Dad from Liana. That way we know who the gift is from.
Had Jesus worn a tag, the tag would have read To: Josh, From: God. In the manger as a baby, if there was a tag it would have read To: Monica, From: God.
As a man, teaching the way to God and healing the sick, To Philip, From: God. As a man forgiving the wayward, touching the heartbroken? To: Eric and Hye Kyung, From: God.
And on the cross bearing the weight of humanities sin? To: Jennika and Duane and Paul, and Irene, and Soyoon, and to every person who is here at the Seattle Central New Life SDA Church. From: God.
You see, “If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent an educator. If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent a scientist. If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent an economist. But, our greatest need was forgiveness and redemption, and, therefore, God sent a Savior!
And in giving Jesus to us, God has given us the best gift heaven can offer.
Open your Bibles with me to Romans 8:32.
Romans 8:32 says, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” How many things? All things!
In Jesus, all the treasures of heaven have been given to the whole human race.
How do we respond to such a precious gift?
Will we receive him with joy? Or will we treat Him with indifference & rejection?
Oh, that you would receive Him with open arms of love.
In closing, I want to take a few moments this morning to pay a special tribute to the One who has made it truly possible for each of us to be today.
In the words of Pastor S.M. Lockridge, we have a reason to honor Jesus Christ and to worship him. For He is more than a man. He’s a King. And He’s worthy of praise. Pastor lockridge says that Jesus is a seven way King. He’s a King of the Jews. That’s a racial king. He’s the king of Israel, and that’s a national king. He’s the King of your righteousness and mine. He’s the King of the Ages. He’s the King of heaven. He’s the King of glory. He’s the King of Kings, and He’s the Lord of Lord. That’s my King beloved. Is He your King today?
King David once said, “The heaven’s declare the glory of ‘God and the firmament showeth His handiwork. My King is a sovereign King and no method of measure can define his limitless love. No far seeing telescope can bring into visibility the close line of His shoreless supply. No barrier can hinder Him from throwing out His blessing. For He’s enduringly strong. He’s entirely sincere. He’s eternally steadfast. He’s immortally graceful. He’s imperially powerful. He’s impartially merciful. Have you met Him?
He’s the greatest phenomenon that has ever crossed the horizon of this world. He’s God’s Son. He’s the sinners Savior. He’s the centerpiece of all civilization. He stands in the solitude of Himself. He’s noble and He’s unique. He’s unparalleled and He’s unprecedented. He’s the loftiest idea in literature. He’s the highest personality in philosophy. He the supreme problem in higher criticism. He’s the fundamental doctrine in all true theology. He’s the core, the necessity of spiritual religion. He’s the miracle of all ages. He’s the superlative of everything good that you choose to call Him. And He’s the only One qualified to be an all sufficient Savior. And I wonder, do you really know Him as your own Savior and King?
He supplies strength for the weak. He’s available to the tempted. He’s there for the tried. He sympathizes and He saves. He strengthens and He sustains. He guards and He guides. He heals the sick. He cleanses from the leprosy of sin. He mends shattered hearts. He discharges debtors. He delivers the captives. He defends the feeble, He blesses the young. He serves the unfortunate. He regards the aged, He rewards the diligent. And He purifies the meek. Have you accepted Him as you King?
You see beloved. He is the key to all knowledge. He’s the wellspring of all wisdom. He’s the doorway of all deliverance, and He’s the pathway of all peace. He’s the roadway of all righteousness. He’s the highway of all holiness. He’s the gateway to all glory and He’s the only way.
His office is diverse. His promises are sure. His light is matchless. His goodness is limitless. His mercy is everlasting. His love never changes. His word is enough. His grace is sufficient. His reign is righteousness. And His yoke is easy and His burden is light.
I wish this morning I could describe Him to you. But He’s indescribable, for He’s God. He’s incomprehensible. And He’s invincible. He’s irresistible. You can’t get Him out of your mind and your can’t get Him off of your heart. You can’t out live Him, and you can’t live without Him. The Pharisees couldn’t stand Him, but they found they couldn’t stop Him. Pilate couldn’t fault Him. False witnesses couldn’t condemn Him. Herod couldn’t kill Him. Death couldn’t handle Him. And the grave couldn’t hold him. Praise God.
That beloved is my King! Is He your King?
Today, if Jesus is the King of your life, then let everyone of us who has breath and life never cease to honor Him who alone is truly worthy to receive honor and glory and praise and power and riches and wisdom and strength and blessing for His beloved is the kingdom and the power and the glory and the honor forever and forever and ever and ever and ever, and ever… And how long is that? It’s forever and ever and ever and ever and when we are through with all of the forevers, it’s then beloved that we can truly say Amen, and Amen, and Amen. To God be the glory, great things He
