Scripture Philippians 2:6-11
Who is going fishing this
Christmas?
All my life I
have seen pictures of fish
shanties (1)
on Lake Eire with people braving the cold stuck in a tiny shack on top of the
ice hoping to catch some fish. Nothing
could be less appealing to me than trying to catch fish through a little hole
in the ice while it is freezing outside. It’s bad enough going to the cold
section of the store to pick up some already fileted fish.
HOWEVER,
Let me suggest
that fishing at Christmas is one of the best times of the year to do so. People
are more likely to accept an invitation to come to church at Christmas or
Easter than at any other time of year. Even the most unchurched people have an
idea that Christmas has something to do with the church.
In view of our
theme, God sent His son out into the deep to let down his nets for a catch.
Listen to this Christmas text and how it describes Jesus going into the deep to
let down his nets for a catch – even in the midst of difficult uncomfortable
cold ice fishing:
(2) Philippians 2:6-11 Jesus: Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own
advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very
nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. (How deep did he go from being God in heaven to being a
human on earth 2000 years ago?) (Now,
watch him go fishing and see the results)
And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled
himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name
that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the
earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to
the glory of God the Father.
Simply put, the
entire Christmas event (Bethlehem, Shepherds, Angels, Herod, Wise Men, a stable
and a manger) all of it was God the Father sending His son on the biggest
fishing trip known to man. The goal was to go out into the deep, let down his
nets to catch as many fish as possible to bring them back home with him. Here’s
the thing; Jesus had to return home but the fishing trip still continues. He
has asked us to keep fishing and keep filling the boat because he doesn’t want
a single fish to flounder.
At First: Gen 6:17-18 I am going to bring floodwaters on the
earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath
of life in it. Everything on earth will perish.
And Then: Gen 9:11 I establish my covenant with you: Never
again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there
be a flood to destroy the earth."
And Now:
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand
slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but
everyone to come to repentance.
THEREFORE
(another great Christmas verse) (3) John
3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Let’s look at
those who serve as an example of sharing the good news that God has sent his
son Jesus and does not want any life to go to waste, but all to receive eternal
life. This is truly GOOD NEWS.
In the Christmas
story who was first to announce the good news?
The Star =
appeared before the birth of Christ which told the wise men a king was being
born.
Then the angels
= Luke 2:10-12 I bring you good news of
great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior
has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You
will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.
Then Mary and
Joseph = (would have shared their story with the shepherds.
Then the
Shepherds
Then Simeon and
Anna
Then Herod’s
priest’s and teachers of the law (The Christ is to be born in Bethlehem)
It seems that everyone in the
Christmas story, everyone who encountered Jesus, shared this good news with
others. In other words, they all became fishers of men. When I think about the
shepherds, what did they do after their encounter with Jesus? They spread the word concerning what had
been told them about this child, and returned, glorifying and praising God for
all the things they had heard and seen.
They
went back to work and to their homes. As they went, the shared the good news of
Jesus. Jesus wants us to simply do the same – (4) 2 Cor 5:17-20 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a
new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled
us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that
God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins
against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are
therefore Christ's ambassadors/fishermen, as though God were making his appeal
through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Get into the net/Be reconciled
to God.
When
we revisit our theme – “Go into the deep and let down your nets for a catch”,
there is one problem: People are not sitting around waiting for us to tell them
about Jesus or invite them to church. One reason we don’t fish is that we know
people avoid the net at all costs. But that is how it has always been. As sweet
as we make the Christmas story – (5) JESUS
CAME UNINVITED INTO THE WORLD.
Into this world,
this demented inn, in which there is absolutely no room for Him at all, Christ
has come uninvited. He cannot be at home in it, because He is out of place in
it, and yet He must be in it, His place is with those for whom there is no
room. His place is with those who do not belong, who are rejected by power
because they are regarded as weak, those who are discredited. With those for
whom there is no room, Christ is present in the world. He is mysteriously
present in those for whom there seems to be nothing but the world at its worst…,
for whom there is no room.
Sharing the good
news of great joy is what God did…is what He wants us to do…what we must do. It
is not welcome, which is exactly why we do it.
1974 Christmas
was my favorite. 11-4-74 I was swimming and swam into His net and he brought me
into the boat. That made that Christmas the most special for me…
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